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A*'** 







THE EMPIRE OF AUSTRIA. 



The Monarchies of Continental Europe. 



THE 



EMPIRE OF AUSTRIA 



ITS 



RISE AND PRESENT POWER. 



BY 



JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. 



- 



V 



NEW YORK: 

DODD, MEAD, AND COMPANY, 

751 Broadway. 



THE US tit?! 
OF COHCREIS 

WASHINGTON 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1558, by 

MASON BROTHERS, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

Copyright, 1877, 
By ESTATE OF JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. 



] 






Stereotyped and Printed by 

Rand, Avery, and Company, 

T17 Franklin Street, 

Boston. 



PREFACE. 

The studies of the author of this work, for the last ten 
years, in writing the " History of Napoleon Bonaparte," and 
" The French Revolution of 1789," have necessarily made 
him quite familiar with the monarchies of Europe. He has 
met with so much that was strange and romantic in their 
career, that he has been interested to undertake, as it were, a 
biography of the Monarchies of Continental Europe — their 
birth, education, exploits, progress and present condition. He 
has commenced with Austria. 

There are abundant materials for this work. The Life of 
Austria embraces all that is wild and wonderful in history ; 
her early struggles for aggrandizement — the fierce strife with 
the Turks, as wave after wave of Moslem invasion rolled up 
the Danube — the long conflicts and bloody persecutions of the 
Reformation — the thirty years' religious war — the meteoric 
career of Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII. shooting 
athwart the lurid storms of battle — the intrigues of Popes — 
the enormous pride, power and encroachments of Louis XIV. 
— the warfare of the Spanish succession and the Polish dis- 
memberment — all these events combine in a sublime tragedy 
which fiction may in vain attempt to parallel. 



VI PREFACE. 

It is affecting to observe in the history of Germany, through 
what woes humanity has passed in attaining even its present 
position of civilization. It is to be hoped that the human 
family may never again suffer what it has already endured. 
We shall be indeed insane if we do not gain some wisdom 
from the struggles and the calamities of those who have gone 
before us. The narrative of the career of the Austrian Em- 
pire, must, by contrast, excite emotions of gratitude in every 
American bosom. Our lines have fallen to us in pleasant 
places ; we have a goodly heritage. 

It is the author's intention soon to issue, as the second of 
this series, the History of the Empire of Russia. 

JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. 

Beunswick, Maine, 1859. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

EHODOLPH OP HAPSBURG. 

From 1232 to 1291. 

FAO> 

Hawk's Castle. — Albert, Count of Hapsburo. — Rhodolph of Hapsburg. — His 
Marriage and Estates. — Excommunication and its Eesults. — His Princi- 
ples of Honor. — A Confederacy of Barons. — Their Route. — Rhodolph'b 
Election as Emperor of Germany.— The Bishop's Warning. — Dissatisfac- 
tion at the Result of the Election. — Advantages accruing from the Pos- 
session OF AN INTERESTING FAMILY.— CONQUEST.— OtTOOAR ACKNOWLEDGES THK 

Emperor ; yet breaks his Oath of Allegiance.— Gathering Clouds. — Won- 
derful Escape.— Victory of Rhodolph. — His Reforms IT 



CHAPTER II. 

REIGNS OF ALBERT I., FREDERIC, ALBERT AND OTHO. 
From 1291 to 1347. 
Anecdotes of Rhodolph. — His Desire for the Election of his Son. — Hts 
Death. — Albert. — His Unpopularity. — Conspiracy of the Nobles. — Their 
Defeat. — Adolphus of Nassau chosen Emperor. — Albert's Conspiracy. — De- 
position of Adolphus and Election of Albert.— Death of Adolphus. — The 
Pope Defied. — Annexation of Bohemia. — Assassination of Albert. — Aveng- 
ing Fury. — The Hermit's Direction. — Frederic the Handsome. — Election 
of Henry, Count of Luxemburg.— His Death. — Election of Louis of Bava- 
kia. — Capture of Frederic. — Remarkable Confidence toward a Prisoner. 
— Death of Frederic. — An early Engagement. — Death of Louis. — Accession 
of Albert 84 

CHAPTER III. 

RHODOLPH II., ALBERT IV. AND ALBERT V. 

From 1339 to 143T. 
Rhodolph II. — Marriage of John to Margaret.— Intriguing for the Tyrol. — 
Death of Rhodolph. — Accession of Power to Austria. — Dividing the Em- 
pire.— Delight of the Emperor Charles.— Leopold. — His Ambition and Suc- 
cesses.— Hedwige, Queen of Poland. — "The Coukse of true Love never did 
run smooth."— Unhappy Marriage of Hedwige.— Heroism of Arnold of 
wlnkelreid. — death of leopold. — death of albert iv. — accession of al- 
BERT V. — Attempts of Sigismond to bequeath to Albert V. Hungary and 
Bohemia , , 48 

1* 



Viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IY. 

ALBERT, LADISLAUS AND FEEDEEIC. 

Feom 1440 to 1489. 

PAGB 

Increasing Honors of Albert V.— Encroachments op the Titers.— The Chris- 
tians EOUTED.— TEEROR OF THE HUNGARIANS. — DEATH OF ALBERT. — MAGNANI- 
MOUS Conduct of Albert of Bavaria.— Internal Troubles.— Precocity of 
Ladislaus.— Fortifications raised by the Turks. — John Capistrun. — Eescub 
of Belgrade.— The Turks Dispersed.— Exultation over the Victory.— 
Death of Hunniades.— Jealousy of Ladislaus.— His Death.— Brotherly 
Quarrels.— Devastations by the Turks. — Invasion of Austria. — Eepeal of 
the Compromise.— The Emperor a Fugitive 63 



CHAPTER V. 

THE EMPEROES FREDERIC II. AND MAXIMILIAN L 

From 1477 to 1500. 
Wanderings of the Emperor Frederic. — Proposed Alliance -with the Dukb 
of Burgundy.— Mutual Distrust. — Marriage of Mary.— The Age of Chiv- 
alry. — The Motive inducing the Lord of Praunstein to declare War- 
Death of Frederic II. — The Emperor's Secret. — Designs of the Turks. — 
Death of Mahomet II.— First Establishment of Standing Armies.— LV.e of 
Gunpowder. — Energy of Maximilian. — French Aggressions. — The League 
to expel the French.— Disappointments of Maximilian.— Bribing the Pope. 
Invasion of Italy. — Capture and Recapture. — The Chevalier de Bayard, 77 



CHAPTER YI. 

MAXIMILIAN I. 

From 1500 to 1519. 
Base Treachery of the Swiss Soldiers.— Perfidy of Ferdinand of Arragon. 
— Appeals by Superstition. — Coalition with Spain. — The League of Cam- 
bray. — Infamy of the Pope. — The King's Apology. — Failure of the Plot.— 
Germany aroused. — Confidence of Maximilian. — Longings for the Pontifi- 
cal Chair. — Maximilian Bribed. — Leo X. — Dawning Prosperity. — Matri- 
monial Projects.— Commencement of the War of Reformation.— Sickness 
of Maximilian.— His last Directions. — His Death. — The Standard by which 
his Character is to be Judged 4 91 



CHAPTER VII. 

CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 
From 1519 to 1581. 
Charles V. of Spain.— His Election as Emperor of Germany.— His Corona- 
tion.— The First Constitution.— Progress of the Reformation.— The Pope's 
Bull against Luther. — His Contempt fob his Holiness.— The Diet at 
Worms. — Frederic's Objection to the Condemnation of Luther by the Diet. 



CONTENTS. IX 

PAGB 

— He obtains fob Lutheb the Eight of Defense. — Luther's triumphal 
Mabch to the Tribunal. — Charles urged to Violate his Safe Conduct.— 
Luther's Patmos. — Marriage of Sister Catharine Bora to Luther. — Ter- 
rible Insurrection.— The Holy League. — The Protest of Spires.— Confes- 
sion of Augsburg. — The Two Confessions.— Compulsory Measures 106 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 
From 1531 to 1552. 
Determination to crush Protestantism.— Incursion of the Turks. — Valob op 
the Protestants.— Preparations for renewed Hostilities. — Augmentation 
of the Protestant Forces. — The Council of Trent. — Mutual Consterna- 
tion. — Defeat of the Protestant Army. — Unlooked-for Succor. — Revolt in 
the Emperor's Army. — The Fluctuations of Fortune. — Ignoble Revenge. — 
Capture of "Wittemberg. — Protestantism apparently crushed. — Plot 
against Charles. — Maurice of Saxony. — A Change of Scene. — The Biteb 
bit— Tub Emperor humbled.— His Flight. — His determined "Will 121 



CHAPTER IX. 

CHARLES V. AND THE TURKISH WARS. 
From 1552 to 1555. 
The Treaty of Passau. — The Emperor yields. — His continued Revebses.— Thb 

TOLEBATTON COMPROMISE.— MUTUAL DISSATISFACTION. — REMARKABLE DESPON- 
DENCY of the Emperor Charles. — His Address to the Convention at Brus- 
sels .The Convent of St. Justus. — Charles returns to Spain. — His Convent 

Life. — The Mock Burial.— His Death.— His Traits of Character.— The 
King's Compliment to Titian. — The Condition of Austria. — Rapid Advance 
of the Turks. — Reasons fob the Inaction of the Christians. — The Sultan's 
Method of Overcoming Difficulties. — The little Fortress of Guntz. — 
What it accomplished...... 186 



CHAPTER X. 

FERDINAND I. — HIS WARS AND INTRIGUES. 

From 1555 to 1562. 
John of Tapoli.— The Instability of Compacts. — The Sultan's Demands. — A 
Reign of Wab. — Powers and Duties of the Monarchs of Bohemia. — Thb 
Diet.— The King's Desire to orush Protestantism. — The Entrance to 
Prague. — Terror of the Inhabitants. — The King's Conditions. — Thb 
Bloody Diet. — Disciplinary Measures. — The establishment of the Ordeb 
of Jesuits. — Abdication of Charles V. in Favor of Ferdinand. — Power of 
the Pope.— Paul IV. — A quiet but powerful Blow. — The Progress of thb 
Eefobmebs. — Attempts to reconcile the Protestants.— The unsuccessful 
Assembly 151 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XI. 

DEATH OF FERDINAND L— ACCESSION OF MAXIMILIAN IL 

From 1562 to 1576. 

rjura 

The Council of Trent.— Spread of the Reformation.— Ferdinand's Attempt 
to influence the pope.— hl8 arguments against celibacy. — stubbornness 
of the Pope. — Maximilian II. — Displeasure of Ferdinand.— Motives fob 

NOT ABJURING THE CATHOLIC FAITH.— RELIGIOUS STRIFE IN EUROPE.— MAXIMIL- 
IAN'S Address to Charles IX. — Mutual Toleration. — Romantic Pastime of 
War.— Heroism of Nicholas, Count of Zrini.— Accession of Power to Aus- 
tria.— Accession of Rhodolph III.— Death of Maximilian 166 



CHAPTER XII. 

CHARACTER OF MAXIMILIAN.— SUCCESSION OF RHODOLPH IIL 
From 15T6 to 1604. 
Character of Maximilian. — His Accomplishments.— His Wife.— Fate of his 
Children.— Rhodolph III.— The Liberty of Worship. — Means of Emancipa- 
tion. — Rhodolph's Attempts against Protestantism. — Declaration of a 
higher Law.— Theological Differences. — The Confederacy at Heilbrun. 
— The Gregorian Calendar.— Intolerance in Bohemia.— The Trap of thr 
Monks.— In vasion of the Turks.— Their Defeat. — Coalition with Sigismond. 
— Sale of Transylvania. — Rule of Basta.— The Empire captured and re- 
captured.— Devastation of the Country.— Treatment of Stephen Botskoi 182 



CHAPTER XIII. 

RHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 
From 1604 to 1609. 
Botskoi's Manifesto. — Horrible Suffering in Transylvania.— Character of 
Botskoi. — Confidence of the Protestants.— Superstition of Rhodolph. — 
His Mystic Studies.— Acquirements of Matthias.— Schemes of Matthias. — 
His increasing Power. — Treaty with the Turks. — Demands on Rhodolph.— 
The Compromise. — Perfidy of Matthias. — The Margravite. — Filibustering. 
— The People's Diet. — A Hint to Royalty.— The Bloodless Triumph.— De- 
mands of the Germans.— Address of the Prince of Anhalt to the King 19S 



CHAPTER XIV. 

RHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 
From 1609 to 1612. 
Difficulties as to the Succession. — Hostility of Henry IV. to the House or 
Austria. — Assassination of Henry IV. — Similarity in Sully's and Napo- 
leon's Plans.— Exultation of the Catholics. — The Brother's Compact.— 
How Rhodolph kept it.— Seizure of Prague.— Rhodolph a Prisoner.— Thb 



CONTENTS. XI 

PAGB 

Kino's Abdication. — Conditions attached to the Crown.— Rage of Rho- 
dolph. — Matthias elected King. — The Emperor's Residence. — Rejoicings of 
the Peotestant8. — Reply of the Ambassadors. — The Nuremberg Diet. — The 

UNKINDEST CUT OF ALL. — RhoDOLPH'S HUMILIATION AND DEATH 213 



CHAPTER XV. 

MATTHIAS. 
From 1612 to 1619. 
Matthias elected Emperor of Germany. — His despotic Character. — His 
Plans thwarted. — Mulheim. — Gathering Clouds. — Family Intrigue. — Cor- 
onation of Ferdinand. — His Bigotry.— Henry, Count of Thurn. — Conven- 
tion at Prague. — The King's Reply. — The Die cast. — Amusing Defense of 
an Outrage. — Ferdinand's Manifesto. — Seizure of Cardinal Klesis. — The 
King's Rage. — Retreat of the King's Troops.— Humiliation of Ferdinand. 
—The Difficulties referred.— Death of Matthias.... ^ ..-..: 



CHAPTER XVI. 

FERDINAND II. 

From 1619 to 1621. 
Possessions of the Emperor. — Power of the Protestants of Bohemia.— Gen- 
eral Spirit of Insurrection. — Anxiety of Ferdinand. — Insurrection led bt 
Count Thurn. — Unpopularity of the Emperor. — Affecting Declaration of 
the Emperor. — Insurrection in Vienna. — The Arrival of Succor. — Ferdi 
nand seeks the imperial throne. — repudiated by bohemia. — the palatin- 
ate. — Frederic offered the Crown of Bohemia. — Frederic crowned. — 
Revolt in Hungary. — Desperate Condition of TnE Emperor. — Catholic 
League. — The Calvinists and the Puritans. — Duplicity of the Emperor. — 
Foreign Combinations. — Truce between the Catholics and the Protest- 
ants. — The Attack upon Bohemia.— Battle of the White Mountain 245 



CHAPTER XVII. 

FERDINAND II. 

From 1621 to 1629. 
Pusillanimity of Frederic. — Intreaties of the Citizens of Prague.— Shame- 
ful Flight of Frederic. — Vengeance inflicted upon Bohemia.— Protest- 
antism and civil Freedom. — Vast Power of the Emperor. — Alarm of Eu- 
rope. — James I. — Treaty of Marriage for the Prince of Wales. — Cardinal 
Richelieu. — New League of the Protestants. — Desolating War. — Defeat 
of the King of Denmark. — Energy of Wallenstein. — Triumph of Ferdi- 
nand. — New Acts of Intolerance. — Severities in Bohemia. — Desolation of 
the Kingdom.— Dissatisfaction of the Duke of Bavaria. — Meeting of the 
Catholic Princes. — The Emperor Humbled 261 



Xll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

FEEDINAND II. AND GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 

From 1629 to 1632. 

PAGS 

Vexation of Ferdinand. — Gustavus Adolphus.— Address to the Nobles op 
Sweden. — March of Gustavus. — Appeal to the Protestants. — Magdeburg 
joins Gustavus. — Destruction of the City. — Consternation of the Protest- 
ants. — Exultation of the Catholics. — The Elector of Saxony driven from 
his Domains. — Battle of Leipsic. — The Swedes penetrate Bohemia. — Free- 
dom of Conscience established. — Death of Tilly. — The Retirement of Wal- 
lenstein. — The Command resumed by Wallenstein. — Capture of Prague.— 
Encounter between Wallenstein and Gustavus.— Battle of Lutzen. — 
Death of Gustavus 279 



CHAPTER XIX. 

FERDINAND II., FERDINAND III. AND LEOPOLD 1. 

From 1632 to 1662. 
Character of Gustavus Adolphus. — Exultation of the Imperialists. — Dis- 
grace of "Wallenstein. — He offers to surrender to the Swedish General. 
— His Assassination.— Ferdinand's Son elected as his Successor. — Death of 
Ferdinand.— Close of the War. — Abdication of Christina. — Charles Gus- 
tavus.— Preparations for War. — Death of Ferdinand III. — Leopold 
elected Emperor. — Hostilities Renewed. — Death of Charles Gustavus. — 
Diet convened. — Invasion of the Tueks 295 



CHAPTER XX. 

LEOPO L*D I. 
From 1662 to 1697. 
Invasion of the Turks. — A Treaty concluded. — Possessions of Leopold. — In- 
vasion of the French. — League of Augsburg. — Devastation of the Palati- 
nate. — Invasion of Hungary. — Emeric Tekeli.— Union of Emerio Tekeli 
with the Turks. — Leopold applies to Sobieski.— He immediately marches 
to his Aid. — The Turks conquered. — Sobieski's triumphal Receptions. — 
Meanness of Leopold. — Revenge upon Hungary. — Peace concluded. — Con- 
test fob Spain 81 1 



CHAPTER XXI. 

LEOPOLD I. AND THE SPANISH SUCCESSION 
From 1697 to 1710. 
The Spanish Succession. — The Impotence of Charles II. — Appeal to the Pope. 
— His Decision.— Death of Charles II. — Accession of Philip V. — Indigna- 
tion of Austria. — The Outbreak of War. — Charles III. crowned. — Insur- 
rection in Hungary. — Defection of Bavaria. — The Battle of Blenheim.— 



CONTENTS. XU1 

PAGH 

Death of Leopold I. — Eleonoea. — Accession of Joseph I.— Charles XII. of 
Sweden.— Charles III. of Spain.— Battle of Malplaquet.— Charles at 
Barcelona. — Charles at Madrid 32b 



CHAPTER XXII. 

JOSEPH I. AND CHARLES YI. 

From 1710 to 1717. 

'erplexities in Madrid. — Flight of Charles. — Retreat of the Austrian 
Army. — Stanhope's Division cut off. — Capture of Stanhope. — Starembeeg 
assailed. — Retreat to Barcelona. — Attempt to pacify Hungary. — The Hun- 
garian Diet. — Baronial crowning of Ragotsky. — Renewal of the Hunga- 
rian War. — Enterprise of Herbeville. — The Hungarians crushed. — Lenity 
of Joseph. — Death of Joseph. — Accession of Charles VI. — His Career in 
Spain. — Capture of Barcelona. — The Siege. — The Rescue. — Character of 
Charles. — Cloisters, of Montserrat. — Increased Efforts for the Spanish 
Crown. — Charles crowned Emperor of Austria and Hungary. — Bohemia. — 
Deplorable Condition of Louis XIV 345 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

CHARLES VI. 

From 1716 to 1727. 

Heroic Decision of Eugene. — Battle of Belgrade. — Utter Rout of the 
Turks. — Possessions of Charles VI. — The Elector of Hanover succeeds to 
the English Throne.— Preparations for War.— State of Italy. — Philip V. 
of Spain.— Diplomatic Agitations. — Palace of St. Ildefonso. — Order of the 
Golden Fleece. — Rejection of Maria Anne. — Contest for the Rock ofGib- 
raltar. — Dismissal of Ripperda. — Treaty of Vienna. — Peace concluded. . . . 



CHAPTER XXIY. 

CHARLES VI. AND THE POLISH WAR. 

From 1727 to 1735. 

CJardinal Fleury. — The Emperor of Austria urges the Pragmatic Sanction. 
— He promises his two Daughters to the two Sons of the Queen of Spain. 
— France, England and Spain unite against Austria. — Charles VI. issues 
Orders to prepare for War. — His Perplexities. — Secret Overtures to En- 
gland. — The Crown of Poland. — Meeting of the Polish Congress. — Stanis- 
laus goes to Poland. — Augustus III. crowned. — War. — Charles sends an 
Army to Lombard y.— Difficulties of Prince Eugene.— Charles's Displeas- 
ure with England.— Letter to Count Kinsky. — Hostilities renewed 878 



XIV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

CHAELES VI. AND THE TURKISH WAR RENEWED. 

From 1735 to 1739. 

FAGS 

Anxiety of Austrian Office-holders. — Maria Theresa. — The Duke of Lor- 
raine. — Distraction of the Emperor. — Tuscany assigned to the Duke of 
Lorraine. — Death of Eugene. — Rising Greatness of Russia. — New War 
*-ith the Turks.— Condition of the Army.— Commencement of Hostilities*— 
Capture of Nissa. — Inefficient Campaign. — Disgrace of Seckendorf. — The 
Duke of Lorraine placed in Command. — Siege of Orsova. — Belgrade be- 
sieged by the Turks. — The third Campaign. — Battle of Crotzka. — Defeat 
of the au8trians. — consternation in vienna. — barbarism of the turks. — 
The Surrender of Belgrade 394 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

MARIA THERESA. 
From 1739 to 1741. 
p.nguish of the klng. — letter to the queen of russia. — the imperial circu- 
LAR. — Deplorable Condition of Austria. — Death of Charles VI.— Acces- 
sion of Maria Theresa. — Vigorous Measures of the Queen. — Claim of the 
Duke of Bavaria.— Responses from the Courts. — Coldness of the French 
Court. — Frederic of Prussia. — His Invasion of Silesia. — March of the Aus- 
trian. — Battle of Molnitz. — Firmness of Maria Theresa. — Proposed Divis- 
ion of Plunder. — Villainy of Frederic. — Interview with the King. — Char 
acter of Frederic. — Commencement of the general Invasion 411 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

MARIA THERESA. 
From 1741 to 1743. 
Character of Francis, Duke of Lorraine.— Policy of European Courts. — 
Pla a of the Allies. — Siege of Prague. — Desperate Condition of the Queen 
— Hbr Coronation in Hungary. — Enthusiasm of the Barons. — Speech of Ma- 
ria Theresa. — Peace with Frederic of Prussia. — His Duplicity. — Military 

MOTEMENT OF THE DUKE OF LORRAINE. — BATTLE OF CHAZLEAU. — SECOND TREATY 

wiTii Frederic. — Despondency of the Duke of Bavaria. — March of Malle- 
boip —Extraordinary Retreat of Belleisle. — Recovery of Prague by the 
Queen 



CHAPTER XXVIII.. 

MARIA THERESA. 
From 1743 to 1748. 
Prosperous Aspect of Austrian Affairs. — Capture of Egra. — Vast Extent of 
Austria.— Dispute with Sardinia.— Marriage of Charles of Lorraine with 



CONTENTS. XV 



PAGB 

the Queen's Sister. — Invasion of Alsace.— Frederic overruns Bohemia. — 
Bohemia recovered ey Prince Charles. — Death of the Emperor Charles 
VII. — Venality of the old Monarchies. — Battle of Hohenfriepberg. — Sir 
Thomas Robinson's Interview with Maria Theresa.— Hungarian Enthu- 
siasm. — The Duke of Lorraine elected Emperor.— Continuation of the War. 
— Treaty of Peace. — Indignation of Maria Theresa 444 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

MARIA THERESA. 
From 1748 to 1759. 
Treaty of Peace. — Dissatisfaction of Maria Theresa. — Preparation fob 
War.— Rupture between England and Austria.— Maria Theresa. — Al- 
liance with France. — Influence of Marchioness of Pompadour. — Bitter 
Reproaches between Austria and England. — Commencement of the Seven 
Years' War. — Energy of Frederic of Prussia. — Sanguinary Battles. — 
Vicissitudes of War. — Desperate Situation of Frederi*. — Elation of Ma- 
ria Theresa. — Her ambitious Plans. — Awful Defeat of the Prussians at 
Berlin 461 



CHAPTER XXX. 

MARIA THERESA. 

From 1759 to 17S0. 
Desolations of War.— Disasters of Prussia. — Despondency of Frederic. — 
Death of the Empress Elizabeth. — Accession of Paul III.— Assassination 
of Paul III.— Accession of Catharine. — Discomfiture of the Austrians. — 
Treaty of Peace. — Election of Joseph to the Throne of the Empire. — Death 
of Francis. — Character of Francis. — Anecdotes. — Energy of Maria The- 
resa. — Poniatowski. — Partition of Poland. — Maria Theresa as a Mother. 
— War with Bavaria. — Peace. — Death of Maria Theresa. — Family of the 

-Accession of Joseph II. — His Character 478 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD II. 

From 1780 to 1792. 
Accession of Joseph II. — His Plans of Reform. — Pius VI. — Emancipation of 
the Serfs. — Joseph's Visit to his Sister, Maria Antoinette. — Ambitious De- 
signs. — The Imperial Sleigh Ride. — Barges on the Dneister.— Excursion 
to the Crimea. — War with Turkey. — Defeat of the Austrians. — Great Suc- 
cesses. — Death of Joseph. — His Character. — Accession of Leopold II. — His 
Efforts to confirm Despotism. — The French Revolution. — European Coali- 
tion.— Death of Leopold. — His Profligacy.— Accession of Francis II.— Pres- 
ent Extent and Power of Austria. — Its Army. — Policy of the Govern- 



XVI CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

AUSTRIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 

From 1792 TO 1860. 

Accession of Francis II.— Campaigns against Napoleon.— The Italian Re- 
publics.— The Kingdom of Italy. — Hostility of England to the Feench 
Revolution. —The Downfall of Napoleon, and Consequent Downfall of 
Feee Institutions throughout Eueope.— TnE Congress of Vienna. — Ex- 
pulsion of the Bourbons from France. — Restoration of the Empire under 
Louis Napoleon.— Revolutions throughout Europe. — Hungarian Revolu- 
tion.— Russian Intervention.— Fall of Hungary.— Liberation of Italy.— 
Present Prospects 505 



CHAPTER I. 

EHODOLPH OP HAPSBURG. 
From 1232 to 1291. 

Hawk's Castle. — Albeet, Count of Hapsbueg.— Rhodolph of HApsbtteg. — Hra 
Mabriage and Estates. — Excommunication and its Results. — His Principles 
of Honoe. — A Confederacy of Barons.— Theie Route.— Rhodolph's Election 
as Emperor of Germany. — The Bishop's Warning.— Dissatisfaction at the 
Result of the Election. — Advantages accruing from the Possession of an 
interesting Family. — Conquest. — Ottocar acknowledges the Emperor; yet 
breaks his Oath of Allegiance. — Gathering Clouds. — Wonderful Escape. — 
Victory of Rhodolph. — His Refoems. 

TN the small canton of Aargau, in Switzerland, on a rocky 
-*- bluff of the Wulpelsberg, there still remains an old baronial 
castle, called Hapsburg, or Hawk's Castle. It was reared in 
the eleventh century, and was occupied by a succession of 
warlike barons, who have left nothing to distinguish them- 
selves from the feudal lords whose castles, at that period, 
frowned upon almost every eminence of Europe. In the 
year 1232 this castle was occupied by Albert, fourth Count 
of Hapsburg. He had acquired some little reputation for 
military prowess, the only reputation any one could acquire 
in that dark age, and became ambitious of winning new lau- 
rels in the war with the infidels in the holy land. Religious 
fanaticism and military ambition were then the two great 
powers which ruled the human soul. 

"With the usual display of semi-barbaric pomp, Albert made 
arrangements to leave his castle to engage in the perilous 
holy war against the Saracens, from which few ever returned. 
A few years were employed in the necessary preparations. 
At the sound of the bugle the portcullis was raised, the draw- 

1* 



1 

18 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

bridge spanned the moat, and Albert, at the head of thirty 
steelclad warriors, with nodding plumes, and banners un- 
furled, emerged from the castle, and proceeded to the neigh- 
boring convent of Mari. His wife, Hedwige, and their 
three sons, Rhodolph, Albert and Hartman, accompanied 
him to the chapel where the ecclesiastics awaited his arrival. 
A multitude of vassals crowded around to witness the im- 
posing ceremonies of the church, as the banners were blessed 
and the knights, after having received the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper, were commended to the protection of God. 
Albert felt the solemnity of the hour, and in solemn tones 
gave his farewell address to his children. 

"My sons," said the steel-clad warrior, "cultivate truth 
and piety; give no ear to evil counselors, never engage in 
unnecessary war, but when you are involved in war be strong 
and brave. Love peace even better than your own personal 
interests. Remember that the counts of Hapsburg did not 
attain their heights of reputation and glory by fraud, inso- 
lence or selfishness, but by courage and devotion to the 
public weal. As long as you follow their footsteps, you will 
not only retain, but augment, the possessions and dignities 
of your illustrious ancestors." 

The tears and sobs of his wife and family interrupted him 
while he uttered these parting words. The bugles then 
Bounded. The knights mounted their horses ; the clatter of 
hoofs was heard, and the glittering cavalcade soon disappeared 
in the forest. Albert had left his ancestral castle, never to re- 
turn. He had but just arrived in Palestine, when he was 
taken sick at Askalon, and died in the year 1240. 

Rhodolph, his eldest son, was twenty-two years of age at 
the time of his father's death. Frederic II., one of the most 
renowned monarchs of the middle ages, was then Emperor of 
that conglomeration of heterogeneous States called Germany. 
Each of these States had its own independent ruler and laws, 
but they were all held together by a common bond for mutual 



RHODOLPH OF HAPSBTJEG. 19 

protection, and some one illustrious sovereign was chosen as 
Emperor of Germany, to preside over their common affairs. 
The Emperor of Germany, having influence over all these 
States, was consequently, in position, the great man of the 
age. 

Albert, Count of Hapsburg, had been one of the favorite 
captains of Frederic II. in the numerous wars which desolated 
Europe in that dark age. He was often at court, and the em- 
peror even condescended to present his son Rhodolph at the 
font for baptism. As the child grew, he was trained to all 
athletic feats, riding ungovernable horses, throwing the jave- 
lin, wrestling, running, and fencing. He early gave indica- 
tions of surprising mental and bodily vigor, and, at an age 
when most lads are considered merely children, he accom- 
panied his father to the camp and to the court. Upon the 
death of his father, Rhodolph inherited the ancestral castle, 
and the moderate possessions of a Swiss baron. He was sur- 
rounded by barons of far greater wealth and power than him- 
self and his proud spirit was roused, in disregard of his father's 
counsels, to aggrandize his fortunes by force of arms, the only 
way then by which wealth and power could be attained. He 
exhausted his revenues by maintaining a princely establish- 
ment, organized a well-selected band of his vassals into a mili- 
tary corps, which he drilled to a state of perfect discipline, 
and then commenced a series of incursions upon his neighbors. 
From some feeble barons he won territory, thus extending his 
domains ; from others he extorted money, thus enabling him 
to reward his troops, and to add to their number by engaging 
fearless spirits in his service wherever he could find them. 

In the year 1245, Rhodolph strengthened himself still 
more by an advantageous marriage with Gertrude, the beau- 
tiful daughter of the Count of Hohenberg. With his bride he 
received as her dowry the castle of Oeltingen, and very con- 
siderable territorial possessions. Thus in five years Rhodolph, 
by that species of robbery which was then called heroic ad- 



20 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

venture, and by a fortunate marriage, had more than doubled 
his hereditary inheritance. The charms of his bride, and the 
care of his estates seem for a few years to have arrested the 
progress of his ambition ; for we can find no further notice of 
him among the ancient chronicles for eight years. But, with 
almost all men, love is an ephemeral passion, which is event- 
ually vanquished by other powers of the soul. Ambition slum- 
bered for a little time, but was soon roused anew, invigorated 
by repose. 

In 1253 we find Rhodolph heading a foray of steel-clad 
knights, with their banded followers, in a midnight attack 
upon the city of Basle. They break over all the defenses, 
sweep all opposition before them, and in the fury of the fight, 
either by accident or as a necessity of war, sacrilegiously set 
fire to a nunnery. For this crime Rhodolph was excommu- 
nicated by the pope. Excommunication was then no farce. 
There were few who dared to serve a prince upon whom the 
denunciations of the Church had fallen. It was a stunning 
blow, from which few men could recover. Rhodolph, instead 
of sinking in despair, endeavored, by new acts of obedience 
and devotion to the Church, to obtain the revocation of the 
sentence. 

In the region now called Prussia, there was then a barbaric 
pngan race, against whom the pope had published a crusade. 
Into this war the excommunicated Rhodolph plunged with all 
the impetuosity of his nature ; he resolved to work out abso- 
lution, by converting, with all the potency of fire and sword, 
the barbarians to the Church. His penitence and zeal seem to 
have been accepted, for we soon find him on good terms again 
with the pope. He now sought to have a hand in every quar- 
rel, far and near. Wherever the sounds of war are raised, 
the shout of Rhodolph is heard urging to the strife. In every 
hot and fiery foray, the steed of Rhodolph is rearing and 
plunging, and his saber strokes fall in ringing blows upon 
cuirass and helmet. He efficiently aided the city of Stras- 



EHODOLPH OP HAPSBUEG. 21 

bourg in their war against their bishop, and received from 
them in gratitude extensive territories, while at the same time 
they reared a monument to his name, portions of which still 
exist. His younger brother died, leaving an only daughter, 
Anne, with a large inheritance. Rhodolph, as her guardian, 
came into possession of the counties of Kybur'g, Lentzburg 
and Baden, and other scattered domains. 

This rapidly-increasing wealth and power, did but increase 
his energy and his spirit of encroachment. And yet he 
adopted principles of honor which were far from common in 
that age of barbaric violence. He would never stoop to or- 
dinary robbery, or harass peasants and helpless travelers, as 
was constantly done by the turbulent barons around him. 
His warfare was against the castle, never against the cottage. 
He met in arms the panoplied knight, never the timid and 
crouching peasant. He swept the roads of the banditti by 
which they were infested, and often espoused the cause of citi- 
zens and freemen against the turbulent barons and haughty 
prelates. He thus gained a wide-spread reputation for justice, 
as well as for prowess, and the name of Rhodolph of Haps- 
burg was ascending fast into renown. Every post of author- 
ity then required the agency of a military arm. The feeble 
cantons would seek the protection of a powerful chief; the 
citizens of a wealthy town, ever liable to be robbed by bishop 
or baron, looked around for some warrior who had invincible 
troops at his command for their protection. Thus Rhodolph 
of Hapsburg was chosen chief of the mountaineers of Uri, 
Schweitz and Underwalden ; and all their trained bands were 
ready, when his bugle note echoed through their defiles, to 
follow him unquestioning, and to do his bidding. The citizens 
of Zurich chose Rhodolph of Hapsburg as their prefect or 
mayor ; and whenever his banner was unfurled in their streets, 
all the troops of the city were at his command. 

The neighboring barons, alarmed at this rapid aggrandize- 
ment of Rhodolph, formed an alliance to crush him. The 



22 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

mountaineers heard his bugle call, and rushed to his aid. 
Zurich opened her gates, and her niarshaled troops hastened 
to his banner. From Hapsburg, and Rheinfelden, and Sua- 
bia, and Brisgau, and we know not how many other of the 
territorial possessions of the count, the vassals rushed to the 
aid of their lord. They met in one of the valleys of Zurich. 
The battle was short, and the confederated barons were put 
to utter flight. Some took refuge in the strong castle of 
Balder, upon a rocky cliff washed by the Albis. Rhodolph 
selected thirty horsemen and thirty footmen. 

" Will you follow me," said he, " in an enterprise where 
the honor will be equal to the peril ?" 

A universal shout of assent was the response. Concealing 
the footmen in a thicket, he, at the head of thirty horsemen, 
rode boldly to the gates of the castle, bidding defiance, with 
all the utterances and gesticulations of contempt, to the whole 
garrison. Those on the ramparts, stung by the insult, rushed 
out to chastise so impudent a challenge. The footmen rose 
from their ambush, and assailants and assailed rushed pell 
mell in at the open gates of the castle. The garrison were cut 
down or taken captive, and the fortress demolished. Another 
party had fled to the castle of Uttleberg. By an ingenious 
stratagem, this castle was also taken. Success succeeded suc- 
cess with such rapidity, that the confederate barons, struck 
with consternation, exclaimed, 

" All opposition is fruitless. Rhodolph of Hapsburg is in- 
vincible." 

They consequently dissolved the alliance, and sought peace 
on terms which vastly augmented the power of the conqueror. 

Basle now incurred the displeasure of Rhodolph. He led 
his armies to the gates of the city, and extorted satisfaction. 
The Bishop of Basle, a haughty prelate of great military power, 
and who could summon many barons to his aid, ventured to 
make arrogant demands of this warrior flushed with victory. 
The palace and vast possessions of the bishop were upon the 



EHODOLPH OP HAPSBURG. 23 

other* side of the unbridged Rhine, and the bishop imagined 
that he could easily prevent the passage of the river. But 
Rhodolph speedily constructed a bridge of boats, put to flight 
the troops which opposed his passage, drove the peasants of 
the bishop everywhere before him, and burned their cottages 
and their fields of grain. The bishop, appalled, sued for a truce, 
that they might negotiate terms of peace. Rhodolph con- 
sented, and encamped his followers. 

He was asleep in his tent, when a messenger entered at 
midnight, awoke him, and informed him that he was elected 
Emperor of Germany. The previous emperor, Richard, had 
died two years before, and after an interregnum of two years 
of almost unparalleled anarchy, the electors had just met, and, 
almost to their own surprise, through the fluctuations and 
combinations of political intrigue, had chosen Rhodolph of 
Hapsburg as his successor. Rhodolph himself was so much 
astonished at the announcement, that for some time he could 
not be persuaded that the intelligence was correct. 

To wage war against the Emperor of Germany, who could 
lead almost countless thousands into the field, was a very dif- 
ferent affair from measuring strength with the comparatively 
feeble Count of Hapsburg. The news of his election flew rap- 
idly. Basle threw open her gates, and the citizens, with illu- 
minations, shouts, and the ringing of bells, greeted the new 
emperor. The bishop was so chagrined at the elevation of his 
foe, that he smote his forehead, and, looking to heaven, pro- 
fanely said, 

u Great God, take care of your throne, or Rhodolph of 
Hapsburg will take it from you !" 

Rhodolph was now fifty-five years of age. Alphonso, King 
of Castile, and Ottocar, King of Bohemia, had both been can- 
didates for the imperial crown. Exasperated by the unex- 
pected election of Rhodolph, they both refused to acknowledge 
his election, and sent ambassadors with rich presents to the 
pope to win him also to their side. Rhodolph, justly appre- 



24 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

dating the power of the pope, sent him a letter couched in 
those terms which would be most palatable to the pontiff. 

" Turning all my thoughts to Him," he wrote, " under 
whose authority we live, and placing all my expectations on 
you alone, I fall down before the feet of your Holiness, be- 
seeching you, with the most earnest supplication, to favor me 
with your accustomed kindness in my present undertaking ; 
and that you will deign, by your mediation with the Most 
High, to support my cause. That I may be enabled to per- 
form what is most acceptable to God and to His holy Church, 
may it graciously please your Holiness to crown me with the 
imperial diadem ; for I trust I am both able and willing to 
undertake and accomplish whatever you and the holy Church 
shall think proper to impose upon me." 

Gregory X. was a humane and sagacious man, influenced 
by a profound zeal for the peace of Europe and the propaga- 
tion of the Christian faith. Gregory received the ambassadors 
of Rhodolph graciously, extorted from them whatever conces- 
sions he desired on the part of the emperor, and pledged his 
support. 

Ottocar, King of Bohemia, still remained firm, and even 
malignant, in his hostility, utterly refusing to recognize the 
emperor, or to perform any of those acts of fealty which were 
his due. He declared the electoral diet to have been illegally 
convened, and the election to have been the result of fraud, 
and that a man who had been excommunicated for burning 
a convent, was totally unfit to wear the imperial crown. 
The diet met at Augsburg, and irritated by the contumacy 
of Ottocar, sent a command to him to recognize the au 
thority of the emperor, pronouncing upon him the ban of 
the empire should he refuse. Ottocar dismissed the ambas- 
sadors with defiance and contempt from his palace at Prague, 
saying, 

" Tell Rhodolph that he may rule over the territories of 
the empire, but he shall have no dominion over mine. It is a 



BHODOLPH OF HAPSBURG. 25 

disgrace to Germany, that a petty count of Hapsburg should 
have been preferred to so many powerful sovereigns." 

War, and a fearful one, was now inevitable. Ottocar was 
a veteran soldier, a man of great intrepidity and energy, and 
his pride was thoroughly roused. By a long series of aggres- 
sions he had become the most powerful prince in Europe, and 
he could lead the most powerful armies into the field. His 
dominions extended from the confines of Bavaria to Raab in 
Hungary, and from the Adriatic to the shores of the Baltic. 
The hereditary domains of the Count of Hapsburg were com- 
paratively insignificant, and were remotely situated at the foot 
of the Alps, spreading through the defiles of Alsace and Sua- 
bia. As emperor, Rhodolph could call the armies of the Ger- 
manic princes into the field ; but these princes moved reluc- 
tantly, unless roused by some question of great moment to 
them all. And when these heterogeneous troops of the empire 
were assembled, there was but a slender bond of union between 
them. 

But Rhodolph possessed mental resources equal to the 
emergence. As cautious as he was bold, as sagacious in coun- 
cil as he was impetuous in action, he calmly, and with great 
foresight and deliberation, prepared for the strife. To a mon- 
arch in such a time of need, a family of brave sons and beau- 
tiful daughters, is an inestimable blessing. Rhodolph secured 
the Duke of Sclavonia by making him the happy husband of 
one of his daughters. His son Albert married Elizabeth, 
daughter of the Count of Tyrol, and thus that powerful and 
noble family was secured. Henry of Bavaria he intimidated, 
and by force of arms compelled him to lead his troops to the 
standard of the emperor ; and then, to secure his fidelity, gave 
his daughter Hedwige to Henry's son Otho, in marriage, 
promising to his daughter as a dowry a portion of Austria, 
which was then a feeble duchy upon the Danube, but little 
larger than the State of Massachusetts. 

Ottocar was but little aware of the tremendous energies 

2 



26 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

of the foe he had aroused. Regarding Rhodolph almost with 
contempt, he had by no means made the arrangements which 
his peril demanded, and was in consternation when he heard 
that Rhodolph, in alliance with Henry of Bavaria, had already 
entered Austria, taken possession of several fortresses, and, at 
the head of a force of a thousand horsemen, was carrying all 
before him, and was triumphantly marching upon Vienna. 
Rhodolph had so admirably matured his plans, that his ad- 
vance seemed rather a festive journey than a contested con- 
quest. With the utmost haste Ottocar urged his troops down 
through the defiles of the Bohemian mountains, hoping to save 
the capital. But Rhodolph was at Vienna before him, where 
he was joined by others of his allies, who were to meet him 
at that rendezvous. Vienna, the capital, was a fortress of 
great strength. Upon this frontier post Charlemagne had es- 
tablished a strong body of troops under a commander who 
was called a margrave ; and for some centuries this city, com- 
manding the Danube, had been deemed one of the strongest 
defenses of the empire against Mohammedan invasion. Vi- 
enna, unable to resist, capitulated. The army of Ottocar had 
been so driven in their long and difficult march, that, exhausted 
and perishing for want of provisions, they began to mutiny. 
The pope had excommunicated Ottocar, and the terrors of the 
curse of the pope, were driving captains and nobles from his 
service. The proud spirit of Ottocar, after a terrible struggle, 
was utterly crushed, and he humbly sued for peace. The 
terms were hard for a haughty spirit to bear. The conquered 
king was compelled to renounce all claim to Austria and sev- 
eral other adjoining provinces, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and 
Windischmark ; to take the oath of allegiance to the emperor, 
and publicly to do him homage as his vassal lord. To cement 
this compulsory friendship, Rhodolph, who was rich in daugh- 
ters, having six to proffer as bribes, gave one, with an abun- 
dant dowry in silver, to a son of Ottocar. 

The day was appointed for the king, in the presence of the 



EHODOLPH OF HAPSBUEG. 27 

whole army, to do homage to the emperor as his liege lord. 
It was the 25th of November, 1276. With a large escort ot 
Bohemian nobles, Ottocar crossed the Danube, and was re- 
ceived by the emperor in the presence of many of the leading 
princes of the empire. The whole army was drawn up to wit- 
ness the spectacle. With a dejected countenance, and with 
indications, which he could not conceal, of a crushed and 
broken spirit, Ottocar renounced these valuable provinces, and 
kneeling before the emperor, performed the humiliating cere- 
mony of feudal homage. The pope in consequence withdrew 
his sentence of excommunication, and Ottocar returned to his 
mutilated kingdom, a humbler and a wiser man. 

Rhodolph now took possession of the adjacent provinces 
which had been ceded to him, and, uniting them, placed them 
under the government of Louis of Bavaria, son of his firm 
ally Henry, the King of Bavaria. Bavaria bounded Austria 
on the west, and thus the father and the son would be in easy 
cooperation. He then established his three sons, Albert, 
Hartmann, and Rhodolph, in different parts of these provinces, 
and, with his queen, fixed his residence at Vienna. 

Such was the nucleus of the Austrian empire, and such 
the commencement of the powerful monarchy which for so 
many generations has exerted so important a control over 
the affairs of Europe. Ottocar, however, though he left 
Rhodolph with the strongest protestations of friendship, re- 
turned to Prague consumed by the most torturing fires of 
humiliation and chagrin. His wife, a haughty woman, who 
was incapable of listening to the voice of judgment when her 
passions were inflamed, could not conceive it possible that a 
petty count of Hapsburg could vanquish her renowned hus- 
band in the field. And when she heard that Ottocar had ac- 
tually done fealty to Rhodolph, and had surrendered to him 
valuable provinces of the kingdom, no bridle could be put 
upon her woman's tongue. She almost stung her husband to 
madness with taunts and reproaches. 



28 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Thus influenced by the pride of his queen, Cunegunda, Ot- 
tocar violated his oath, refused to execute the treaty, impris- 
oned in a convent the daughter whom Rhodolph had given to 
his son, and sent a defiant and insulting letter to the emperor. 
Rhodolph returned a dignified answer and prepared for war, 
Ottocar, now better understanding the power of his foe, made 
the most formidable preparations for the strife, and soon took 
the field with an army which he supposed would certainly tri- 
umph over any force which Rhodolph could raise. He even 
succeeded in drawing Henry of Bavaria into an alliance ; and 
many of the German princes, whom he could not win to his 
standard, he bribed to neutrality. Numerous chieftains, lured 
to his camp by confidence of victory, crowded around him 
with their followers, from Poland, Bulgaria, Pomerania, Mag- 
deburg, and from the barbaric shores of the Baltic. Many of 
the fierce nobles of Hungary had also joined the standard of 
Ottocar. 

Thus suddenly clouds gathered around Rhodolph, and 
many of his friends despaired of his cause. He appealed to 
the princes of the German empire, and but few responded to 
his call. His sons-in-law, the Electors of Palatine and of Sax- 
ony, ventured not to aid him in an emergence when defeat 
seemed almost certain, and where all who shared in the defeat 
would be utterly ruined. In June, 1275, Ottocar marched 
from Prague, met his allies at the appointed rendezvous, and 
threading the defiles of the Bohemian mountains, approached 
the frontiers of Austria. Rhodolph was seriously alarmed, 
for it was evident that the chances of war were against him. 
He could not conceal the restlessness and agitation of his spirit 
as he impatiently awaited the arrival of troops whom he sum- 
moned, but who disappointed his hopes. 

" I have not one," he sadly exclaimed, " in whom I can 
confide, or on whose advice I can depend." 

The citizens of Vienna perceiving that Rhodolph was aban- 
doned by his German allies, and that they could present no 



RHODOLPH OF HAPSBUEG. 29 

effectual resistance to so powerful an army as was approach- 
ing, and terrified in view of a siege, and the capture of the 
city by storm, urged a capitulation, and even begged permis- 
sion to choose a new sovereign, that they might not be in- 
volved in the ruin impending over Rhodolph. This address 
roused Rhodolph from his despondency, and inspired him with 
the energies of despair. He had succeeded in obtaining a few 
troops from his provinces in Switzerland. The Bishop of 
Basle, who had now become his confessor, came to his aid, at 
the head of a hundred horsemen, and a body of expert sling- 
ers. Rhodolph, though earnestly advised not to undertake a 
battle with such desperate odds, marched from Vienna to meet 
the foe. 

Rapidy traversing the southern banks of the Danube to 
Hamburg, he crossed the river and advanced to Marcheck, on 
the banks of the Morava. He was joined by some troops 
from Styria and Carinthia, and by a strong force led by the 
King of Hungary. Emboldened by these accessions, though 
still far inferior in strength to Ottocar, he pressed on till the 
two armies faced each other on the plains of Murchfield. It 
was the 26th of August, 1278. 

At this moment some traitors deserting the camp of Otto- 
car, repaired to the camp of Rhodolph and proposed to assassi- 
nate the Bohemian king. Rhodolph spurned the infamous 
offer, and embraced the opportunity of seeking terms of recon- 
ciliation by apprising Ottocar of his danger. But the king, 
confident in his own strength, and despising the weakness of 
Rhodolph, deemed the story a fabrication and refused to listen 
to any overtures. Without delay he drew up his army in the 
form of a crescent, so as almost to envelop the feeble band be- 
fore him, and made a simultaneous attack upon the center and 
upon both flanks. A terrific battle ensued, in which one party 
fought, animated by undoubting confidence, and the other 
impelled by despair. The strife was long and bloody. The 
tide of victory repeatedly ebbed and flowed. Ottocar had 



30 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

offered a large reward to any of his followers who would bring 
to him Rhodolph, dead or alive. 

A number of knights of great strength and bravery, con- 
federated to achieve this feat. It was a point of honor to be 
effected at every hazard. Disregarding all the other perils of 
the battle, they watched their opportunity, and then in a united 
swoop, on their steel-clad chargers, fell upon the emperor. 
His feeble guard was instantly cut down. Rhodolph was a 
man of herculean power, and he fought like a lion at bay. 
One after another of his assailants he struck from his horse, 
when a Thuringian knight, of almost fabulous stature and 
strength, thrust his spear through the horse of the emperor, 
and both steed and rider fell to the ground. Rhodolph, encum- 
bered by his heavy coat of mail, and entangled in the hous- 
ings of his saddle, was unable to rise. He crouched upon the 
ground, holding his helmet over him, while saber strokes and 
pike thrusts rang upon cuirass and buckler like blows upon an 
anvil. A corps of reserve spurred to his aid, and the emperor 
was rescued, and the bold assailants who had penetrated the 
very center of his army were slain. 

The tide of victory now set strongly in favor of Rhodolph, 
for " the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the 
strong." The troops of Bohemia were soon everywhere put 
to rout. The ground was covered with the dead. Ottocar, 
astounded at his discomfiture, and perhaps fearing the tongue 
of his wife more than the sabers of his foes, turned his back 
upon his flying army, and spurred his horse into the thickest 
of his pursuers. He was soon dismounted and slain. Four- 
teen thousand of his troops perished on that disastrous day. 
The body of Ottocar, mutilated with seventeen wounds, was 
carried to Vienna, and, after being exposed to the people, 
was buried with regal honors. 

Rhodolph, vastly enriched by the plunder of the camp, 
and having no enemy to encounter, took possession of Mora- 
via, and riumphantly marched into Bohemia. All was con- 



RHODOLPH OF HAPSBPRG. 31 

steraation there. The queen Cunegunda, who bad brought 
these disasters upon the kingdom, had no influence. Her 
only son was but eight years of age. The turbulent nobles, 
jealous of each other, had no recognized leader. The queen, 
humiliated and despairing, implored the clemency of the con- 
queror, and offered to place her infant son and the kingdom 
of Bohemia under his protection. Rhodolph was generous in 
this hour of victory. As the result of arbitration, it was 
agreed that he should hold Moravia for five years, that its 
revenues might indemnify him for the expenses of the war. 
The young prince, Wenceslaus, was acknowledged king, and 
during his minority the regency was assigned to Oth o, mai> 
grave or military commander of Brandenburg. Then ensued 
some politic matrimonial alliances. Wenceslaus, the boy king, 
was aifianced to Judith, one of the daughters of Rhodolph. 
The princess Agnes, daughter of Cunegunda, was to become 
the bride of Rhodolph's second son. These matters being 
all satisfactorily settled, Rhodolph returned in triumph to 
Vienna. 

The emperor now devoted his energies to the consolida- 
tion of these Austrian provinces. They were four in number, 
Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Carniola. All united, they 
made but a feeble kingdom, for they did not equal, in extent of 
territory, several of the States of the American Union. Each 
of these provinces had its independent government, and" its 
local laws and customs. They were held together by the sim- 
ple bond of an arbitrary monarch, who claimed, and exercised 
as he could, supreme control over them all. Under his wise and 
energetic administration, the affairs of the wide-spread empire 
were prosperous, and his own Austria advanced rapidly in 
order, civilization and power. The numerous nobles, turbu- 
lent, unprincipled and essentially robbers, had been in the habit 
of issuing from their castles at the head of banditti bands, and 
ravaging tho country with incessant incursions. It required 
great boldness in Rhodolph to brave the wrath of these united 



32 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

nobles. He did it fearlessly, issuing the decree that there 
should be no fortresses in his States which were not necessary 
for the public defense. The whole country was spotted with 
castles, apparently impregnable in all the strength of stone 
and iron, the secure refuge of high-born nobles. In one year 
seventy of these turreted bulwarks of oppression were torn 
down ; and twenty-nine of the highest nobles, who had ven- 
tured upon insurrection, were put to death. An earnest pe- 
tition was presented to hirn in behalf of the condemned insur- 
gents. 

" Do not," said the king, " interfere in favor of robbers ; 
they are not nobles, but accursed robbers, who oppress the 
poor, and break the public j)eace. True nobility is faithful 
and just, offends no one, and commits no injury." 



CHAPTER II. 

REIGNS OF ALBERT I, FREDERIC, ALBERT AND OTIIO. 
From 1291 to 134?. 

Anecdotes of Ehodolph.— His Desire fok the Election of his Son.— His Death. 
— Albert. — His Unpopularity. — Conspiracy of the Nobles.— Their Defeat.— 
Adolphus of Nassau cnosEN Emperor. — Albert's Conspiracy. — Deposition of 
Adolphus and Election of Albert. — Death of Adolphus. — The Pope Defied. 
— Annexation of Bohemia. — Assassination of Albert. — Avenging Fury. — The 
Hermit's Direction.— Frederic the Handsome. — Election of Henry, Count 
of Luxemburg. — His Death. — Election of Louis of Bavaria. — Capture of 
Frederic. — Eemarkable Confidence toward a Prisoner. — Death of Fred- 
eric. — An early Engagement. — Death of Louis. — Accession of Albert. 

"HHODOLPH of Hapsburg was one of the most remark- 
J-* able men of his own or of any age, and many anecdotes 
illustrative of his character, and of the rude times in which he 
lived, have been transmitted to us. The Thuringian knight 
who speared the emperor's horse in the bloody fight of Murch- 
field, was rescued by Rhodolph from those who would cut 
him down. 

" I have witnessed," said the emperor, " his intrepidity, 
and never could forgive myself if so courageous a knight 
should be put to death." 

During the war with Ottocar, on one occasion the army 
were nearly perishing of thirst. A flagon of water was 
brought to him. He declined it, saying, 

" I can not drink alone, nor can I divide so small a quantity 
among all. I do not thirst for myself, but for the whole army." 

By earnest endeavor he obtained the perfect control of his 
passions, naturally very violent. "I have often," said he, 
"repented of being passionate, but never of being mild and 
humane." 

2* 



34 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

One of his captains expressed dissatisfaction at a rich gift 
the emperor made to a literary man who presented him a 
manuscript describing the wars of the Romans. 

" My good friend," Rhodolph replied, " be contented that 
men of learning praise our actions, and thereby inspire us 
with additional courage in war. I wish I could employ more 
time in reading, and could expend some of that money on 
learned men which I must throw away on so many illiterate 
knights." 

One cold morning at Metz, in the year 1288, he walked 
out dressed as usual in the plainest garb. He strolled into a 
baker's shop, as if to warm himself. The baker's termagant 
wife said to him, all unconscious who he was, 

" Soldiers have no business to come into poor women's 
houses." 

" True," the emperor replied, " but do not be angry, my 
good woman ; I am an old soldier who have spent all my for- 
tune in the service of that rascal Rhodolph, and he suffers me 
to want, notwithstanding all his fine promises." 

"Good enough for you," said the woman ; " a man who 
will serve such a fellow, who is laying waste the whole earth, 
deserves nothing better." 

She then, in her spite, threw a pail of water on the fire, 
which, filling the room with smoke and ashes, drove the em- 
peror into the street. 

Rhodolph, having returned to his lodgings, sent a rich 
present to the old woman, from the emperor who had warmed 
himself at her fire that morning, and at the dinner-table told 
the story with great glee to his companions. The woman, 
terrified, hastened to the emperor to implore mercy. He 
ordered her to be admitted to the dining-room, and promised 
to forgive her if she would repeat to the company all her 
abusive epithets, not omitting one. She did it faithfully, to 
the infinite merriment of the festive group. 

So far as we can now judge, and making due allowance 



ALBERT I., FEEDER IC, ALBERT AISTD OTHO. 35 

for the darkness of the age in which he lived, Rhodolph ap- 
pears to have been, in the latter part of his life, a sincere, if 
not an enlightened Christian. He was devout in prayer, and 
punctual in attending the services of the Church. The hum- 
ble and faithful ministers of religion he esteemed and pro- 
tected, while he was ever ready to chastise the insolence of 
those haughty prelates who disgraced their religious profes- 
sions by arrogance and splendor. 

At last the infirmities of age pressed heavily upon him. 
When seventy-three years old, knowing that he could not 
have much longer to live, he assembled the congress of elect- 
ors at Frankfort, and urged them to choose his then only 
surviving son Albert as his successor on the imperial throne. 
The diet, however, refused to choose a successor until after 
the death of the emperor. Rhodolph was bitterly disap- 
pointed, for he understood this postponement as a positive 
refusal to gratify him in this respect. Saddened in spirit, and 
feeble in body, he undertook a journey, by slow stages, to his 
hereditary dominions in Switzerland. He then returned to 
Austria, where he died on the 15th of July, 1291, in the 
soventy-third year of his age. 

Albert, who resided at Vienna, succeeded his father in 
authority over the Austrian and Swiss provinces. But he 
was a man stern, unconciliating and domineering. The nobles 
hated him, and hoped to drive him back to the Swiss cantons 
from which his father had come. One great occasion of dis- 
content was, that he employed about his person, and in impor- 
tant posts, Swiss instead of Austrian nobles. They demanded 
the dismission of these foreign favorites, which so exasperated 
Albert that he clung to them still more tenaciously and ex- 
clusively. 

The nobles now organized a very formidable conspiracy, 
and offered to neighboring powers, as bribes for their aid, 
portions of Austria. Austria proper was divided by the river 
Ens into two parts called Upper and Lower Austria. Lower 



36 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Austria was offered to Bohemia; Styria to the Duke of Ba- 
varia ; Upper Austria to the Archbishop of Saltzburg ; Car- 
niola to the Counts of Guntz ; and thus all the provinces were 
l^ortioned out to the conquerors. At the same time the citi- 
zens of Vienna, provoked by the haughtiness of Albert, rose 
in insurrection. With the energy which characterized his 
father, Albert met these emergencies. Summoning imme- 
diately an army from Switzerland, he shut up all the avenues 
to the city, which was not in the slightest degree prepared 
for a siege, and speedily starved the inhabitants into submis- 
sion. Punishing severely the insurgents, he strengthened his 
]30st at Vienna, and confirmed his power. Then, marching 
rapidly upon the nobles, before they had time to receive that 
foreign aid which had been secretly promised them, and se- 
curing all the important fortresses, which were now not many 
in number, he so overawed them, and so vigilantly watched 
every movement, that there was no opportunity to rise and 
combine. The Styrian nobles, being remote, made an effort 
at insurrection. Albert, though it was in the depth of winter, 
plowed through the snows of the mountains, and plunging un- 
expectedly among them, routed them with great slaughter. 

While he was thus conquering discontent by the sword, and 
silencing murmurs beneath the tramp of iron hoofs, the diet 
was assembling at Frankfort to choose a new chief for the 
Germanic empire. Albert was confident of being raised to 
the vacant dignity. The splendor of his talents all admitted. 
Four of the electors were closely allied to him by marriage, 
and he arrogantly felt that he was almost entitled to the office 
as the son of his renowned father. But the electors feared his 
ambitious and despotic disposition, and chose Adolphus of 
Nassau to succeed to the imperial throne. 

Albert w T as mortified and enraged by this disappointment, 
and expressed his determination to oppose the election ; but 
the troubles in his own domains prevented him from putting 
this threat into immediate execution. His better judgment 



ALBEET I., FEEDEEIC, ALBERT A^D OTHO. 37 

soon taught him the policy of acquiescing in the election, and 
he sullenly received the investiture of bis liefs from the hands 
of the Emperor Adolphus. Still Albert, struggling against 
unpopularity and continued insurrection, kept his eye fixed 
eagerly upon the imperial crown. With great tact he con- 
spired to form a confederacy for the deposition of Adolphus. 

Wenceslaus, the young King of Bohemia, was now of 
age, and preparations were made for his coronation with great 
splendor at Prague. Four of the electors were present on this 
occasion, which was in June, 1297. Albert conferred with 
them respecting his plans, and secured their cooperation. The 
electors more willingly lent their aid since they were exceed- 
ingly displeased with some of the measures of Adolphus for 
the aggrandizement of his own family. Albeit with secrecy 
and vigor pushed his plans, and when the diet met the same 
year at Metz, a long list of grievances was drawn up against 
Adolphus. He was summoned to answer to these charges. 
The proud emperor refused to appear before the bar of the 
diet as a culprit. The diet then deposed Adolphus and elected 
Albert II. to the imperial throne, on the 23d of June, 1298. 

The two rival emperors made vigorous preparations to set- 
tle the dispute with the sword, and the German States arrayed 
themselves, some on one side and some on the other. The 
two armies met at Gelheim on the 2d of July, led by the rival 
sovereigns. In the thickest of the fight Adolphus spurred his 
horse through the opposing ranks, bearing down all opposi- 
tion, till he faced Albert, who was issuing orders and animat- 
ing his troops by voice and gesture. 

" Yield," shouted Adolphus, aiming a saber stroke at the 
head of his foe, " your life and your crown." 

" Let God decide," Albert replied, as he parried the blow, 
and thrust his lance into the unprotected face of Adolphus. 
At that moment the horse of Adolphus fell, and he himself 
was instantly slain. Albert remained the decisive victor on 
this bloody field. The diet of electors was again summoned, 



38 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

and he was now chosen unanimously emperor. He was soon 
crowned with great splendor at Aix-la-Chapelle. 

Still Albert sat on an uneasy throne. The pope, indig- 
nant that the electors should presume to depose one em- 
peror and choose another without his consent, refused to con- 
firm the election of Albert, and loudly inveighed him as the 
murderer of Adolphus. Albert, with characteristic impulsive- 
ness, declared that he was emperor by choice of the electors 
and not by ratification of the pope, and defiantly spurned the 
opposition of the pontiff. Considering himself firmly seated 
on the throne, he refused to pay the bribes of tolls, privileges, 
territories, etc., which he had so freely offered to the electors. 
Thus exasperated, the electors, the pope, and the King of Bo- 
hemia, conspired to drive Albert from the throne. Their se- 
cret plans were so well laid, and they were so secure of success, 
that the Elector of Mentz tauntingly and boastingly said to 
Albert, " I need only sound my hunting-horn and a new em- 
peror will appear." 

Albert, however, succeeded by sagacity and energy, in 
dispelling this storm which for a time threatened his entire 
destruction. By making concessions to the pope, he finally 
won him to cordial friendship, and by the sword vanquish 
ing some and intimidating others, he broke up the league 
His most formidable foe was his brother-in-law, Wenceslaus, 
King of Bohemia. Albert's sister, Judith, the wife of Wen- 
ceslaus, had for some years prevented a rupture between them, 
but she now being dead, both rnonarchs decided to refer their 
difficulties to the arbitration of the sword. While their armies 
were marching, Wenceslaus was suddenly taken sick and died, 
in June, 1305. His son, but seventeen years of age, weak in 
body and in mind, at once yielded to all the demands of his 
imperial uncle. Hardly a year, however, had elapsed ere this 
young prince, Wenceslaus III, was assassinated, leaving no 
issue. 

Albert immediately resolved to transfer the crown of Bo 



ALBEET I., FEEDEEIC, ALBERT AND OTHO. 39 

hernia to his own family, and thus to annex the powerful king- 
dom of Bohemia to his own limited Austrian territories. Bo- 
hemia added to the Austrian provinces, would constitute quite 
a noble kingdom. The crown was considered elective, though 
in fact the eldest son was almost always chosen during the 
lifetime of his father. The death of Wenceslaus, childless, 
opened the throne to other claimants. No one could more 
imperiously demand the scepter than Albert. He did demand 
it for his son Rhodolph in tones which were heard and obeyed. 
The States assembled at Prague on the 1st of April, 1306. 
Albert, surrounded by a magnificent retinue, conducted his 
son to Prague, and to confirm his authority married him to 
the widow of Wenceslaus, a second, wife. Rhodolph also, 
about a year before, had buried Blanche, his first wife. Albert 
was exceedingly elated, for the acquisition of Bohemia was an 
accession to the power of his family which doubled their ter- 
ritory, and more than doubled their wealth and resources. 

A mild government would have conciliated the Bohemians, 
but such a course was not consonant with the character of the 
imperious and despotic Albert. He urged his son to meas- 
ures of arbitrary power which exasperated the nobles, and led 
to a speedy revolt against his authority. Rhodolph and the 
nobles were soon in the field with their contending armies, 
when Rhodolph suddenly died from the fatigues of the camp, 
aged but twenty-two years, having held the throne of Bohe- 
mia less than a year. 

Albert, grievously disappointed, now demanded that his 
second son, Frederic, should receive the crown. As soon as 
his name was mentioned to the States, the assembly with great 
unanimity exclaimed, " We will not again have an Austrian 
king." This led to a tumult. Swords were drawn, and two 
of the partisans of Albert were slain. Henry, Duke of Ca- 
rinthia, was then almost unanimously chosen king. But the 
haughty Albert was not to be thus easily thwarted in his plans. 
He declared that his son Frederic was King of Bohemia, and 



40 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

raising an army, he exerted all the influence and military power 
which his position as emperor gave him, to enforce his claim. 

But affairs in Switzerland for a season arrested the atten- 
tion of Albert, and diverted his armies from the invasion of 
Bohemia. Switzerland was then divided into small sovereign- 
ties, of various names, there being no less than fifty counts, 
one hundred and fifty barons, and one thousand noble families. 
Both Rhodolph and Albert had greatly increased, by annexa- 
tion, the territory and the power of the house of Hapsburg. 
By purchase, intimidation, war, and diplomacy, Albert had 
for some time been making such rapid encroachments, that a 
general insurrection was secretly planned to resist his power. 
All Switzerland seemed to unite as with one accord. Albert 
was rejoiced at this insurrection, for, confident of superior 
power, he doubted not his ability speedily to quell it, and it 
would afford him the most favorable pretext for still greater 
aggrandizement. Albert hastened to his domain at Hapsburg, 
where he was assassinated by conspirators led by his own 
nephew, whom he was defrauding of his estates. 

Frederic and Leopold, the two oldest surviving sons ot 
Albert, avenged their father's death by pursuing the conspira 
tors until they all suffered the penalty of their crimes. With 
ferocity characteristic of the age, they punished mercilessly 
the families and adherents of the assassins. Their castles were 
demolished, their estates confiscated, their domestics and men 
at arms massacred, and their, wives and children driven out 
into the world to beg or to staiwe. Sixty-three of the retain- 
ers of Lord Balne, one of the conspirators, though entirely 
innocent of the crime, and solemnly protesting their uncon- 
sciousness of any plot, were beheaded in one day. Though 
but four persons took part in the assassination, and it was 
not known that any others were implicated in the deed, it is 
estimated that more than a thousand persons suffered death 
through the fury of the avengers. Agnes, one of the daugh- 
ters of Albert, endeavored with her own hands to strangle the 



^^ r - ., FEEDEEIC, ALBERT AND OTHO. 41 

infant child of the Lord of Eschenback, when the soldiers, 
moved by its piteous cries, with difficulty rescued it from her 
hands. 

Elizabeth, the widow of Albert, with her implacable fanatic 
daughter Agnes, erected a magnificent convent on the spot at 
Konigsburg, where the emperor was assassinated, and there 
in cloistered gloom they passed the remainder of their lives. 
It was an age of superstition, and yet there were some who 
comprehended and appreciated the pure morality of the gos- 
pel of Christ. 

" Woman," said an aged hermit to Agnes, " God is not 
served by shedding innocent blood, and by rearing convents 
from the plunder of families. He is served by compassion only, 
and by the forgiveness of injuries." 

Frederic, Albert's oldest son, now assumed the govern- 
ment of the Austrian provinces. From his uncommon per- 
sonal attractions he was called Frederic the Handsome. His 
character was in conformity with his person, for to the most 
chivalrous bravery he added the most feminine amiability and 
mildness. He was a candidate for the imperial throne, and 
would probably have been elected but for the unpopularity of 
his despotic father. The diet met, and on the 2 7th of Novem- 
ber, 1308, the choice fell unanimously upon Henry, Count of 
Luxemburg. 

This election deprived Frederic of his hopes of uniting 
Bohemia to Austria, for the new emperor placed his son John 
upon the Bohemian throne, and was prepared to maintain him 
there by all the power of the empire. In accomplishing this, 
there was a short conflict with Henry of Carintjria, but he was 
speedily driven out of the kingdom. 

Frederic, however, found a little solace in his disappoint 
ment, by attaching to Austria the dominions he had wrested 
from the lords he had beheaded as assassins of his father. In 
the midst of these scenes of ambition, intrigue and violence, 
the Emperor Henry fell sick and died, in the fifty-second year 



42 THE HOUSE OF ATJSTEIA. 

of his age. This unexpected event opened again to Frederic 
the prospect of the imperial crown, and all his friends, in the 
now very numerous branches of the family, spared neither 
money nor the arts of diplomacy in the endeavor to secure the 
coveted dignity for him. A year elapsed after the death of 
Henry before the diet was assembled. During that time all 
the German States were in intense agitation canvassing the 
claims of the several candidates. The prize of an imperial 
crown was one which many grasped at, and every little court 
was agitated by the question. The day of election, October 
9th, 1314, arrived. There were two hostile parties in the field, 
one in favor of Frederic of Austria, the other in favor of Louis 
of Bavaria. The two parties met in different cities, the Aus- 
trians at Saxenhausen, and the Bavarians at Frankfort. There 
were, however, but four electors at Saxenhausen, while there 
were five at Frankfort, the ancient place of election. Each 
party unanimously chose its candidate. Louis, of Bavaria, re- 
ceiving five votes, while Frederic received but four, was un- 
questionably the legitimate emperor. Most of the imperial 
cities acknowledged him. Frankfort sung his triumph, and he 
was crowned with all the ancient ceremonials of pomp at Aix- 
la-Chapelle. 

But Frederic and his party were not ready to yield, and 
all over Germany there was the mustering of armies. For 
two years the hostile forces were marching and countermarch- 
ing with the usual vicissitudes of war. The tide of devasta- 
tion and blood swept now over one State, and now over 
another, until at length the two armies met, in all their con- 
centrated strength, at Muhldorf, near Munich, for a decisive 
battle. Louis of Bavaria rode proudly at the head of thirty 
thousand foot, and fifteen hundred steel-clad horsemen. Fred- 
eric of Austria, the handsomest man of his age, towering above 
all his retinue, was ostentatiously arrayed in the most splendid 
armor art could furnish, emblazoned with the Austrian eagle, 
and his helmet was surmounted by a crown of gold. 



ALBERT I., FEEDEEIC, ALBERT AND OTHO. 43 

As he thus led the ranks of twenty-two thousand footmen, 
and seven thousand horse, all eyes followed him, and all hearts 
throbbed with confidence of victory. From early dawn, till 
night darkened the field, the horrid strife raged. In those 
days gunpowder was unknown, and the ringing of battle-axes 
on helmet and cuirass, the strokes of sabers and the clash of 
spears, shouts of onset, and the shrieks of the wounded, as 
sixty thousand men fought hand to hand on one small field, 
rose like the clamor from battling demons in the infernal 
world. Hour after hour of carnage passed, and still no one 
could tell on whose banners victory would alight. The gloom 
of night was darkening over the exhausted combatants, when 
the winding of the bugle was heard in the rear of the Aus- 
trians, and a band of four hundred Bavarian horsemen came 
plunging down an eminence into the disordered ranks of Fred- 
eric. The hour of dismay, which decides a battle, had come. 
A scene of awful carnage ensued as the routed Austrians, flee- 
ing in every direction, were pursued and massacred. Fred- 
eric himself was struck from his horse, and as he fell, stunned 
by the blow, he was captured, disarmed and carried to the 
presence of his rival Louis. 

The spirit of Frederic was crushed by the awful, the irre- 
trievable defeat, and he appeared before his conqueror speech- 
less in the extremity of his woe. Louis had the pride of mag- 
nanimity and endeavored to console his captive. 

" The battle is not lost by your fault," said he. " The Ba- 
varians have experienced to their cost that you are a valiant 
prince ; but Providence has decided the battle. Though I am 
happy to see you as my guest, I sympathize with you in your 
sorrow, and will do what I can to alleviate it." 

For three years the unhappy Frederic remained a prisoner 
of Louis of Bavaria, held in close confinement in the castle at 
Trausnitz. At the end of that time the emperor, alarmed at 
the efforts which the friends of Frederic were making to com- 
bine several Powers to take up arms for his relief, visited his 



44 THE HOUSE 01* AUSTRIA. 

prisoner, and in a personal interview proposed terms of recon- 
ciliation. The terms, under the circumstances, were consid- 
ered generous, but a proud spirit needed the discipline of three 
years' imprisonment before it could yield to such demands. 

It was the 13th of March, 1325, when this singular inter- 
view between Louis the emperor, and Frederic his captive, 
took place at Trausnitz. Frederic promised upon oath that 
in exchange for his freedom he would renounce all claim to 
the imperial throne ; restore all the districts and castles he 
had wrested from the empire ; give up all the documents 
relative to his election as emperor ; join with all his family in- 
fluence to support Louis against any and every adversary, and 
give his daughter in marriage to Stephen the son of Louis. 
He also promised that in case he should fail in the fulfillment 
of any one of these stipulations, he would return to his cap- 
tivity. 

Frederic fully intended a faithful compliance with these 
requisitions. But no sooner was he liberated than his fiery 
brother Leopold, who presided over the Swiss estates, and who 
was a man of great capacity and military energy, refused per- 
emptorily to fulfill the articles which related to him, and made 
vigorous preparations to urge the war which he had already, 
with many allies, commenced against the Emperor Louis. The 
pope also, who had become inimical to Louis, declared that 
Frederic was absolved from the agreement at Trausnitz, as it 
was extorted by force, and, with all the authority of the head 
of the Church, exhorted Frederic to reassert his claim to the 
imperial crown. 

Amidst such scenes of fraud and violence, it is refreshing 
to record an act of real honor. Frederic, notwithstanding the 
entreaties of the pope and the remonstrances of his friends, 
declared that, be the consequences what they might, he never 
would violate his pledge ; and finding that he could not fulfill 
the articles of the agreement, he returned to Bavaria and sur- 
rendered himself a prisoner to the emperor. It is seldom tha* 



ALBERT I., FEEDEEIC, ALBERT AND OTHO. 45 

history has the privilege of recording so noble an act. Louis 
of Bavaria fortunately had a soul oapable of appreciating the 
magnanimity of his captive. He received him with courtesy 
and with almost fraternal kindness. In the words of a con- 
temporary historian, " They ate at the same table and slept in 
the same bed ;" and, most extraordinary of all, when Louis 
was subsequently called to a distant part of his dominions to 
quell an insurrection, he intrusted the government of Bavaria, 
during his absence, to Frederic. 

Frederic's impetuous and ungovernable brother Leopold, 
was unwearied in his endeavors to combine armies against the 
emperor, and war raged without cessation. At length Louis, 
harassed by these endless insurrections and coalitions against 
him, and admiring the magnanimity of Frederic, entered into 
a new alliance, offering terms exceedingly honorable on his 
part. He agreed that he and Frederic should rule conjointly 
as emperors of Germany, in perfect equality of power and dig- 
nity, alternately taking the precedence. 

With this arrangement Leopold was satisfied, but unfortu- 
nately, just at that time, his impetuous spirit, exhausted by 
disappointment and chagrin, yielded to death. He died at 
Strasbourg on the 28th of February, 1326. The pope and 
several of the electors refused to accede to this arrangement, 
and thus the hopes of the unhappy Frederic were again 
blighted, for Louis, who had consented to this accommodation 
for the sake of peace, was not willing to enforce it through 
the tumult of war. Frederic was, however, liberated from 
captivity, and he returned to Austria a dejected, broken-hearted 
man. He pined away for a few months in languor, being 
rarely known to smile, and died at the castle of Gullenstein on 
the 13th of January, 1330. His widow, Isabella, the daughter 
of the King of Arragon, became blind from excessive grief, 
and soon followed her husband to the tomb. 

As Fredenc left no son, the Austrian dominions fell to his 
two brothers, Albert III. and Otho. Albert, by marriage, 



46 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

added the valuable county of Ferret in Alsace to the dominions 
of the house of Austria. The two brothers reigned with such 
wonderful harmony, that no indications can be seen of sepa- 
rate administrations. They renounced all claim to the impe- 
rial throne, notwithstanding the efforts of the pope to the 
contrary, and thus secured friendship with the Emperor Louis. 
There were now three prominent families dominant in Ger- 
many. Around these great families, who had gradually, by 
marriage and military encroachments, attained their supremacy, 
the others of all degrees rallied as vassals, seeking protection 
and contributing strength. The house of Bavaria, reigning 
over that powerful kingdom and in possession of the imperial 
throne, ranked first. Then came the house of Luxembourg, 
possessing the wide-spread and opulent realms of Bohemia. 
The house of Austria had now vast possessions, but these were 
widely scattered ; some provinces on the banks of the Danube 
and others in Switzerland, spreading through the defiles of 
the Alps. 

John of Bohemia was an overbearing man, and feeling quite 
impregnable in his northern realms beyond the mountains, as- 
sumed such a dictatorial air as to rouse the ire of the princes 
of Austria and Bavaria. These two houses consequently en- 
tered into an intimate alliance for mutual security. The Duke 
of Carinthia, who was uncle to Albert and Otho, died, leaving 
only a daughter, Margaret. This dukedom, about the size of 
the State of Massachusetts, a wild and mountainous region, 
was deemed very important as the key to Italy. John of Bo- 
hemia, anxious to obtain it, had engaged the hand of Margaret 
for his son, then but eight years of age. It was a question in 
dispute whether the dukedom could descend to a female, and 
Albert and Otho claimed it as the heirs of their uncle. Louis, 
the emperor, supported the claims of Austria, and thus Carin- 
thia became attached to this growing power. 

John, enraged, formed a confederacy with the kings of Hun 
gary and Poland, and some minor princes, and invaded Aus- 



ALBEET I., FREDERIC, ALBERT AND OTHO. 47 

tria. For some time they swept all opposition before them. 
But the Austrian troops and those of the empire checked 
them at Landau. Here they entered into an agreement with- 
out a battle, by which Austria was permitted to retain Carin- 
thia, she making important concessions to Bohemia. In Feb- 
ruary, 1339, Otho died, and Albert was invested with the sole 
administration of affairs. The old King of Bohemia possessed 
vehemence of character which neither age nor the total blind- 
ness with which he had become afflicted could repress. He 
traversed the empire, and even went to France, organizing a 
powerful confederacy against the emperor. The pope, Clem- 
ent VI., who had always been inimical to Louis of Bavaria, 
influenced by John of Bohemia, deposed and excommunicated 
Louis, and ordered a new meeting of the diet of electors, 
which chose Charles, eldest son of the Bohemian monarch, 
and heir to that crown, emperor. 

The deposed Louis fought bravely for the crown thus torn 
from his brow. Albert of Austria aided him with all his en- 
ergies. Their united armies, threading the defiles of the Bo- 
hemian mountains, penetrated the very heart of the kingdom, 
when, in the midst of success, the deposed Emperor Louis fell 
dead from a stroke of apoplexy, in the year 1347. This event 
left Charles of Bohemia in undisputed possession of the im- 
perial crown. Albert immediately recognized his claim, ef- 
fected reconciliation, and becoming the friend and the ally 
of the emperor, pressed on cautiously but securely, year after 
year, in his policy of annexation. But storms of war inces- 
santly howled around his domains until he died, a crippled 
paralytic, on the 16th of August, 1358. 



CHAPTER' III. 

REODOLPH II., ALBERT IV. AND ALBERT V. 
From 1339 to 1437. 

Ehodolpii II. — Marriage of John to Margaret. — Intriguing for the Tyrol. — 
Death ofEhodolph. — Accession of Power to Austria.— Dividing the Empire. 
— Delight of the Emperor Charles. — Leopold. — His Ambition and Successes. 
— iledwige, qtteen of poland. — " the course op true love never djd run 
smooth." — Unhappy Marriage of Hedwige. — Heroism of Arnold of Winkel- 
reid— Death of Leopold. — Death of Albert IV.— Accession of Albert Y.— 
Attempts of Sigismond to bequeath to Albert V. Hungary and Bohemia. 

T) HODOLPH H., the eldest son of Albert III., when but 
-L^ nineteen years of age succeeded his father in the govern- 
ment of the Austrian States. He had been very thoroughly 
educated in all the civil and military knowledge of the tiines. 
He was closely allied with the Emperor Charles IV. of Bohe- 
mia, having married his daughter Catherine. His character 
and manhood had been very early developed. When he was 
in his seventeenth year his father had found it necessary to 
visit his Swiss estates, then embroiled in the fiercest war, and 
had left him in charge of the Austrian provinces. He soon 
after was intrusted with the whole care of the Hapsburg do- 
minions in Switzerland. In this responsible post he developed 
wonderful administrative skill, encouraging industry, repress- 
ing disorder, and by constructing roads and bridges, opening 
facilities for intercourse and trade. 

Upon the death of his father, Ehodolph removed to 
Vienna, and being now the monarch of powerful realms on 
the Danube and among the Alps, he established a court rival- 
ing the most magnificent establishments of the age. 

Just west of Austria and south of Bavaria was the magnifi 



RHODOLPH II., ALBERT IV. AND ALBERT V. 49 

cent dukedom of Tyrol, containing some sixteen thousand 
square miles, or about twice the size of the State of Massachu- 
setts. It was a country almost unrivaled in the grandeur of 
its scenery, and contained nearly a million of inhabitants. 
This State, lying equally convenient to both Austria and Ba- 
varia, by both of these kingdoms had for many years been re- 
garded with a wistful eye. The manner in which Austria se- 
cured the prize is a story well worth telling, as illustrative of 
the intrigues of those times. 

It will be remembered that John, the arrogant King of 
Bohemia, engaged for his son the hand of Margaret, the only 
daughter of the Duke of Carinthia. Tyrol also was one of the 
possessions of this powerful duke. Henry, having no son, had 
obtained from the emperor a decree that these possessions 
should descend, in default of male issue, to his daughter. But 
for this decision the sovereignty of these States would descend 
to the male heirs, Albert and Otho of Austria, nephews of 
Henry. They of course disputed the legality of the decree, 
and, aided by the Emperor Louis of Bavaria, obtained Carin- 
thia, relinquishing for a time their claim to Tyrol. The em- 
peror hoped to secure that golden prize for his hereditary 
estates of Bavaria. 

When John, the son of the King of Bohemia, was but sev- 
enteen years of age, and a puny, weakly child, he was hurriedly 
married to Margaret, then twenty-two. Margaret, a sanguine, 
energetic woman, despised her baby husband, and he, very 
naturally, impotently hated her. She at length fled from him, 
and escaping from Bohemia, threw herself under the protec- 
tion of Louis. The emperor joyfully welcomed her to his 
court, and promised to grant her a divorce, by virtue of his 
imperial power, if she would marry his son Louis. The com- 
pliant princess readily acceded to this plan, and the divorce 
was announced and the nuptials solemnized in February, 1342. 

The King of Bohemia was as much exasperated as the King 
of Bavaria was elated by this event, for the one felt that he 



50 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

had lost the Tyrol, and the other that he had gained it. It 
was this successful intrigue which cost Louis of Bavaria his 
imperial crown ; for the blood of the King of Bohemia was 
roused. Burning with vengeance, he traversed Europe almost 
with the zeal and eloquence of Peter the Hermit, to organize 
a coalition against the emperor, and succeeded in inducing the 
pope, always hostile to Louis, to depose and excommunicate 
him. This marriage was also declared by the pope unlawful, 
and the son, Meinhard, eventually born to them, was branded 
as illegitimate. 

While matters were in this state, as years glided on, Rho- 
dolph succeeded in winning the favor of the pontiff, and in- 
duced him to legitimate Meinhard, that this young heir of 
Tyrol might marry the Austrian princess Margaret, sister of 
Rhodolph. Meinhard and his wife Margaret ere long died, 
leaving Margaret of Tyrol, a widow in advancing years, with 
no direct heirs. By the marriage contract of her son Mein- 
hard with Margaret of Austria, she promised that should there 
be failure of issue, Tyrol should revert to Austria. On the 
other hand, Bavaria claimed the territory in virtue of the 
marriage of Margaret with Louis of Bavaria. 

Rhodolph was so apprehensive that Bavaria might make an 
immediate move to obtain the coveted territory by force of 
arms, that he hastened across the mountains, though in the 
depth of whiter, obtained from Margaret an immediate pos- 
session of Tyrol, and persuaded her to accompany him, an 
honored guest, to his capital, which he had embellished with 
unusual splendor for her entertainment. 

Rhodolph had married the daughter of Charles, King of 
Bohemia, the emperor, but unfortunately at this juncture, 
Rhodolph, united with the kings of Hungary and Poland, was 
at war with the Bavarian king. Catherine his wife, however, 
undertook to effect a reconciliation between her husband and 
her father. She secured an interview between them, and the 
emperor, the hereditary rival of his powerful neighbor the 



EHODOLPH II., ALBERT IV. AND ALBEET V. 51 

King of Bavaria, confirmed Margaret's gift, invested Rhodolph 
with the Tyrol, and pledged the arm of the empire to main- 
tain this settlement. Thus Austria gained Tyrol, the country 
of romance and of song, interesting, perhaps, above all other 
portions of Europe in its natural scenery, and invaluable from 
its location as the gateway of Italy. Bavaria made a show of 
armed opposition to this magnificent accession to the power 
of Austria, but soon found it in vain to assail Rhodolph sus- 
tained by Margaret of Tyrol, and by the energies of the em- 
pire. 

Rhodolph was an antiquarian of eccentric character, ever 
poring over musty records and hunting up decayed titles. He 
was fond of attaching to his signature the names of all the 
innumerable offices he held over the conglomerated States of 
his realm. He was Rhodolph, Margrave of Baden, Vicar of 
Upper Bavaria, Lord of Hapsburg, Arch Huntsman of the 
Empire, Archduke Palatine, etc., etc. His ostentation pro- 
voked even the jealousy of his father, the emperor, and he was 
ordered to lay aside these numerous titles and the arrogant 
armorial bearings he was attaching to his seals. His desire to 
aggrandize his family burned with a quenchless flame. Hop- 
ing to extend his influence in Italy, he negotiated a matrimo- 
nial alliance for his brother with an Italian princess. As he 
crossed the Alps to attend the nuptials, he was seized with 
an ij^ammatory fever, and died the 27th of July, 1365, but 
twenty-six years of age, and leaving no issue. 

His brother Albert, a young man but seventeen years of 
age, succeeded Rhodolph. Just as he assumed the government, 
Margaret of Tyrol died, and the King of Bavaria, thinking 
this a favorable moment to renew his claims for the Tyrol, vig- 
orously invaded the country with a strong army. Albert im- 
mediately applied to the emperor for assistance. Three years 
were employed in fightings and diplomacy, when Bavaria, in 
consideration of a large sum of money and sundry other con- 
cessions, renounced all pretensions to Tyrol, and left the rich 



62 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

prize henceforth undisputed in the hands of Austria. Thus 
the diminutive margrave of Austria, which was at first but a 
mere military post on the Danube, had grown by rapid accre- 
tions in one century to be almost equal in extent of territory 
to the kingdoms of Bavaria and of Bohemia. This grandeur 
instead of satisfying the Austrian princes, did but increase their 
ambition. 

The Austrian territories, though widely scattered, were 
declared, both by family compact and by imperial decree, to be 
indivisible. Albert had a brother, Leopold, two years younger 
than himself, of exceedingly restless and ambitious spirit, while 
Albert was inactive, and a lover of ease and repose. Leopold 
was sent to Switzerland, and intrusted with the administra- 
tion of those provinces. But his imperious spirit so dom- 
inated over his elder but pliant brother, that he extorted from 
him a compact, by which the realm was divided, Albert re- 
maining in possession of the Austrian provinces of the Danube, 
and Leopold having exclusive dominion over those in Switzer- 
land ; while the magnificent new acquisition, the Tyrol, lying 
between the two countries, bounding Switzerland on the east, 
and Austria on the west, was shared between them. 

Nothing can more clearly show the moderate qualities of 
Albert than that he should have assented to such a plan. He 
did, however, with easy good nature, assent to it, and the two 
brothers applied to the Emperor Charles to ratify the divis- 
ion by his imperial sanction. Charles, who for some time 
had been very jealous of the rapid encroachments of Austria, 
rubbed his hands with delight. 

" We have long," said he, " labored in vain to humble the 
house of Austria, and now the dukes of Austria have humbled 
themselves." 

Leopold the First inherited all the ambition and energy of 
the house of Hapsburg, and was ever watching with an eagle 
eye to extend his dominions, and to magnify his power. By 
money, war, and diplomacy, in a few years he obtained Fri 



EHODOLPH II., ALBERT IV. AND ALBERT V. 53 

burg and the little town of Basle ; attached to his dominions 
the counties of Feldkirch, Pludenz, Surgans and the Rienthal, 
which he wrested from the feeble counts who held them, and 
obtained the baillages of Upper and Lower Suabia, and the 
' towns of Augsburg and Gingen. But a bitter disappointment 
was now encountered by this ambitious prince. 

Louis, the renowned King of Hungary and Poland, had two 
daughters, Maria and Hedwige, but no sons. To Maria he 
promised the crown of Hungary as her portion, and among 
the many claimants for her hand, and the glittering crown she 
held in it, Sigismond, son of the Emperor Charles, King of 
Bohemia, received the prize. Leopold, whose heart throbbed 
in view of so splendid an alliance, was overjoyed when he se- 
cured the pledge of the hand of Hedwige, with the crown of 
Poland, for William, his eldest son. Hedwige was one of the 
most beautiful and accomplished princesses of the age. "Wil- 
liam was also a young man of great elegance of person, and 
of such rare fascination of character, that he had acquired the 
epithet of William the Delightful. His chivalrous bearing 
had been trained and polished amidst the splendors of his 
uncle's court of Vienna. Hedwige, as the affianced bride of 
William, was invited from the more barbaric pomp of the 
Hungarian court, to improve her education by the aid of the 
refinements of Vienna. William and Hedwige no sooner met 
than they loved one another, as young hearts, even in the 
palace, will sometimes love, as well as in the cottage. In 
brilliant festivities and moonlight excursions the young lovers 
passed a few happy months, when Hedwige was called home 
by the final sickness of her father. Louis died, and Hedwige 
was immediately crowned Queen of Poland, receiving the 
most enthusiastic greetings of her subjects. 

Bordering on Poland there was a grand duchy of immense 
extent, Lithuania, embracing sixty thousand square miles. 
The Grand Duke Jaghellon was a burly Northman, not more 
than half civilized, whose character was as jagged as his name* 



54 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

This pagan proposed to the Polish nobles that he should marry 
Hedwige, and thus unite the grand duchy of Lithuania with 
the kingdom of Poland ; promising in that event to renounce 
paganism, and embrace Christianity. The beautiful and 
accomplished Hedwige was horror-struck at the proposal, 
and declared that never would she marry any one but 
William. 

But the Polish nobles, dazzled by the prospect of this mag- 
nificent accession to the kingdom of Poland, and the bishops, 
even more powerful than the nobles, elated with the vision ot 
such an acquisition for the Church, resolved that the young 
and fatherless maiden, who had no one to defend her cause, 
should yield, and that she should become the bride of Jag- 
hellon. They declared that it was ridiculous to think that the 
interests of a mighty kingdom, and the enlargement of the 
Church, were to yield to the caprices of a love-sick girl. 

In the meantime William, all unconscious of the disap- 
pointment which awaited him, was hastening to Cracow, with 
a splendid retinue, and the richest presents Austrian art could 
fabricate, to receive his bride. The nobles, however, a semi- 
barbaric set of men, surrounded him upon his arrival, refused 
to allow him any interview with Hedwige, threatened him 
with personal violence, and drove him out of the kingdom. 
Poor Hedwige was in anguish. She wept, vowed deathless 
fidelity to William, and expressed utter detestation of the 
pagan duke, until, at last, worn out and broken-hearted, she, 
in despair, surrendered herself into the arms of Jaghellon. 
Jaghellon was baptized by the name of Ladislaus, and Lith- 
uania was annexed to Poland. 

The loss of the crown of Poland was to Leopold a grievous 
affliction; at the same time his armies, engaged in sundry 
measures of aggrandizement, encountered serious reverses. 
Leopold, the father of William, by these events was plunged 
into the deepest dejection. No effort of his friends could lift 
the weight of his gloom. In a retired apartment of one of his 



EHODOLPH II., ALBERT IV. AND ALBERT V. 55 

castles he sat silent and woful, apparently incapacitated for 
any exertion whatever, either bodily or mental. The affairs 
of his realm were neglected, and his bailiffs and feudal chiefs, 
'eft with irresponsible power, were guilty of such acts of ex- 
tortion and tyranny, that, in the province of Suabia the barons 
combined, and a fierce insurrection broke out. Forty im- 
portant towns united in the confederacy, and secured the co- 
operation of Strasburg, Mentz and other large cities on the 
Rhine. Other of the Swiss provinces were on the eve of 
joining this alarming confederacy against Leopold, their Aus- 
trian ruler. As Vienna for some generations had been the 
seat of the Hapsburg family, from whence governors were 
sent to these provinces of Helvetia, as Switzerland was then 
called, the Swiss began to regard their rulers as foreigners, 
and even Leopold found it necessary to strengthen himself 
with Austrian troops. 

This formidable league roused Leopold from his torpor, 
and he awoke like the waking of the lion. He was imme- 
diately on the march with four thousand horsemen, and four- 
teen hundred foot, while all through the defiles of the Alps 
bugle blasts echoed, summoning detachments from various 
cantons under their bold barons, to hasten to the aid of the 
insurgents. On the evening of the 9th of July, 1396, the 
glittering host of Leopold appeared on an eminence overlook- 
ing the city of Sempach and the beautiful lake on whose bor- 
der it stands. The horses were fatigued by their long and 
hurried march, and the crags and ravines, covered with forest, 
were impracticable for the evolutions of cavalry. The im- 
petuous Leopold, impatient of delay, resolved upon an imme- 
diate attack, notwithstanding the exhaustion of his troops, 
and though a few hours of delay would bring strong rein- 
forcements to his camp. He dismounted his horsemen, and 
formed his whole force in solid phalanx. It was an imposing 
spectacle, as six thousand men, covered from head to foot 
with blazing armor, presenting a front of shields like a wall 



56 THE HOUSE Or AUSTRIA. 

of burnished steel, bristling with innumerable pikes and spears, 
moved with slow, majestic tread down upon the city. 

The confederate Swiss, conscious that the hour of ven- 
geance had come, in which they must conquer or be misera- 
bly slain, marched forth to meet the foe, emboldened only by 
despair. But few of the confederates were in armor. They 
were furnished with such weapons as men grasp when despot- 
ism rouses them to insurrection, rusty battle-axes, pikes and 
halberts, and two-handed swords, which their ancestors, in 
descending into the grave, had left behind them. They drew 
up in the form of a solid wedge, to pierce the thick concentric 
wall of steel, apparently as impenetrable as the cliffs of the 
mountains. Thus the two bodies silently and sternly ap- 
proached each other. It was a terrific hour ; for every man 
knew that one or the other of those hosts must perish utterly. 
For some time the battle raged, while the confederates could 
make no impression whatever upon their steel-clad foes, and 
sixty of them fell pierced by spears before one of their assail- 
ants had been even wounded. 

Despair was fast settling upon their hearts, when Arnold 
of Winkelreid, a knight of Underwalden, rushed from the 
ranks of the confederates, exclaiming — 

" I will open a passage into the line ; protect, dear coun- 
trymen, my wife and children." 

He threw himself upon the bristling spears. A score 
pierced his body ; grasping them with the tenacity of death, 
he bore them to the earth as he fell. His comrades, emulating 
his spirit of self-sacrifice, rushed over his bleeding body, and 
forced their way through the gate thus opened into the line. 
The whole unwieldy mass was thrown into confusion. The 
steel-clad warriors, exhausted before the battle commenced, 
and encumbered with their heavy armor, could but feebly re- 
sist their nimble assailants, who outnumbering them and over- 
powering them, cut them down in fearful havoc. It soon be- 
came a general slaughter, and not less than two thousand of 



EHODOLPH II., ALBERT IV. AND ALBEET V. 51 

the followers of Leopold were stretched lifeless upon the 
ground. Many were taken prisoners, and a few, mounting 
their horses, effected an escape among the wild glens of the 
Alps. 

In this awful hour Leopold developed magnanimity and 
heroism worthy of his name. Before the battle commenced, 
his friends urged him to take care of his own person. 

" God forbid," said he, " that I should endeavor to save 
my own life and leave you to die ! I will share your fate, and, 
with you, will either conquer or perish." 

When all was in confusion, and his followers were falling 
like autunm leaves around him, he was urged to put spurs to 
his horse, and, accompanied by his body-guard, to escape. 

" I would rather die honorably," said Leopold, " than live 
with dishonor." 

Just at this moment his standard-bearer was struck down 
by a rush of the confederates. As he fell he cried out, " Help, 
Austria, help !" Leopold frantically sprang to his aid, grasped 
the banner from his dying hand, and waving it, plunged into 
the midst of the foe, with saber strokes hewing a path before 
him. He was soon lost in the tumult and the carnage of the 
battle. His body was afterward found, covered with wounds, 
in the midst of heaps of the dead. 

Thus perished the ambitious and turbulent Leopold the 1st, 
after a stormy and unhappy life of thirty-six years, and a reign 
of constant encroachment and war of twenty years. Life to 
him was a dark and somber tempest. Ever dissatisfied with 
what he had attained, and grasping at more, he could never 
enjoy the present, and he finally died that death of violence 
to which his ambition had consigned so many thousands. 
Leopold, the second son of the duke, who was but fifteen 
years of age, succeeded his father, in the dominion of the 
Swiss estates ; and after a desultory warfare of a few months, 
was successful in negotiating a peace, or rather an armed 
truce, with the successful insurgents. 

3* 



58 THE HOUSE OP AUSTEIA. 

In the meantime, Albert,' at Vienna,, apparently happy in 
being relieved of all care of the Swiss provinces, was devot- 
ing himself to the arts of peace. He reared new buildings, 
encouraged learning, repressed all disorders,- and cultivated 
friendly relations with the neighboring powers. His life was 
as a summer's day — serene and bright. He and his family 
were happy, and his realms in prosperity. He died at his 
rural residence at Laxendorf, two miles out from Vienna, on 
the 29th of August, 1395. All Austria mourned his death. 
Thousands gathered at his burial, exclaiming, " We have lost 
our friend, our father !" He was a studious, peace-loving, 
warm-hearted man, devoted to his family and his friends, fond 
of books and the society of the learned, and enjoying the cul- 
tivation of his garden with his own hands. He left, at his 
death, an only son, Albert, sixteen years of age. 

William, the eldest son of Leopold, had been brought up 
in the court of Vienna. He was a young man of fascinating 
character and easily won all hearts. After his bitter disap- 
pointment in Poland ^he returned to Vienna, and now, upon 
the death of his uncle Albert, he claimed the reins of govern- 
ment as the oldest member of the family. His cousin Albert, 
of course, resisted this claim, demanding that he himself 
should enter upon the post which his father had occupied. A 
violent dissension ensued which resulted in an agreement 
that they should administer the government of the Austrian 
States, jointly, during their lives, and that then the govern- 
ment should be vested in the eldest surviving member of the 
family. 

Having effected this arrangement, quite to the satisfaction 
of both parties, Albert, who inherited much of the studious 
thoughtful turn of mind of his father, set out on a pilgrimage 
to the holy land, leaving the government during his absence 
in the hands of William. After wanderings and adventures 
so full of romance as to entitle him to the appellation of the 
" Wonder of the World," he returned to Vienna. He married 



EHODOLPH II., ALBERT IV. AND ALBERT V. 59 

a daughter of the Duke of Holland, and settled down to a 
monkish life. He entered a monastery of Carthusian monks, 
and took an active part in all their discipline and devotions. 
"No one was more punctual than he at matins and vespers, or 
more devout in confessions, prayers, genuflexions and the di- 
vine service in the choir. Regardiug himself as one of the 
fraternity, he called himself brother Albert, and left William 
untrammeled in the cares of state. His life was short, for he 
died the 14th of September, 1404, in the twenty-seventh year 
of his age, leaving a son Albert, seven years old. William, 
who married a daughter of the King of Naples, survived him 
but two years, when he died childless. 

A boy nine years old now claimed the inheritance of the 
Austrian estates ; but the haughty dukes of the Swiss branch 
of the house were not disposed to yield to his claims. Leo- 
pold II., who after the battle of Sempach succeeded his father 
in the Swiss estates, assumed the guardianship of Albert, and 
the administration of Austria, till the young duke should be 
of age. But Leopold had two brothers who also inherited 
their father's energy and ambition. Ernest ruled over Styria, 
Carinthia and Carniola. Frederic governed the Tyrol. 

Leopold II. repaired to Vienna to assume the administra- 
tion ; his two brothers claimed the right of sharing it with 
him. Confusion, strife and anarchy ensued. Ernest, a very 
determined and violent man, succeeded in compelling his 
brother to give him a share of the government, and in the 
midst of incessant quarrels, which often led to bloody conflicts, 
each of the two brothers strove to wrest as much as possible 
from Austria before young Albert should be of age. The 
nobles availed themselves of this* anarchy to renew their ex- 
peditions of plunder. Unhappy Austria for several years was 
a scene of devastation and misery. In the year 1411, Leopold 
II. died without issue. The young Albert had now attained 
his fifteenth year. 

The emperor declared Albert of age, and he assumed the 



60 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

government as Albert V. His subjects, weary of disorder 
and of the strife of the nobles, welcomed him with enthusi- 
asm. With sagacity and self-denial above his years, the young 
prince devoted himself to business, relinquishing all pursuits 
of pleasure. Fortunately, during his minority he had honor- 
able and able teachers who stored his mind with useful knowl- 
edge, and fortified him with principles of integrity. The 
change from the most desolating anarchy to prosperity and 
peace was almost instantaneous. Albert had the judgment 
to surround himself with able advisers. Salutary laws were 
enacted ; justice impartially administered ; the country was 
swept of the banditti which infested it, and while all the 
States around were involved in the miseries of war, the song 
of the contented husbandman, and the music of the artisan's 
tools were heard through the fields and in the towns of happy 
Austria. 

Sigismond, second son of the Emperor Charles IV., King 
of Bohemia, was now emperor. It will be remembered that 
by marrying Mary, the eldest daughter of Louis, King of Hun- 
gary and Poland, he received Hungary as the dower of his 
bride. By intrigue he also succeeded in deposing his effemi- 
nate and dissolute brother, Wenceslaus, from the throne of 
Bohemia, and succeeded, by a new election, in placing the 
crown upon his own brow. Thus Sigismond wielded a three- 
fold scepter. He was Emperor of Germany, and King of 
Hungary and of Bohemia. 

Albert married the only daughter of Sigismond, and a very 
strong affection sprung up between the imperial father and his 
son-in-law. They often visited each other, and cooperated 
very cordially in measures of state. The wife of Sigismond 
was a worthless woman, described by an Austrian historian as 
" one who believed in neither God, angel nor devil ; neither 
in heaven nor hell." Sigismond had set his heart upon be- 
queathing to Albert the crowns of both Hungary and Bohe- 
mia, which magnificent accessions to the Austrian domains 



RHODOLPH II., ALBERT IV. AND ALBERT V. 61 

would elevate that power to be one of the first in Europe. 
But Barbara, his queen, wished to convey these crowns to the 
son of the pagan Jaghellon, who had received the crown of 
Poland as the dowry of his reluctant bride, Hedwige. Sigis- 
mond, provoked by her intrigues for the accomplishment of 
this object, and detesting her for her licentiousness, put her 
under arrest. Sigismond was sixty-three years of age, in very 
feeble health, and daily expecting to die. 

He summoned a general convention of the nobles of Hun- 
gary and Bohemia to meet him at Znaim in Moravia, near the 
frontiers of Austria, and sent for Albert and his daughter to 
hasten to that place. The infirm emperor, traveling by slow 
stages, succeeded in reaching Znaim. He immediately sum- 
moned the nobles to his presence, and introducing to them 
Albert and Elizabeth, thus affectingly addressed them : 

" Loving friends, you know that since the commencement 
of my reign I have employed my utmost exertions to main- 
tain public tranquillity. Now, as I am about to die, my last 
act must be consistent with my former actions. . At this mo- 
ment my only anxiety arises from a desire to prevent dissen- 
sion and bloodshed after my decease. It is praiseworthy in a 
prince to govern well ; but it is not less praiseworthy to pro- 
vide a successor who shall govern better than himself. This 
fame I now seek, not from ambition, but from love to my sub- 
jects. You all know Albert, Duke of Austria, to whom in 
preference to all other princes I gave my daughter in mar- 
riage, and whom I adopted as my son. You know that he 
possesses experience and every virtue becoming a prince. He 
found Austria in a state of disorder, and he has restored it to 
tranquillity. He is now of an age in which judgment and ex- 
perience attain their perfection, and he is sovereign of Austria, 
which, lying between Hungary and Bohemia, forms a connect- 
ing link between the two kingdoms. 

" I recommend him to you as my successor. I leave you 
a king, pious, honorable, wise and brave. T give him my 



62 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

kingdom, or rather I give him to my kingdoms, to whom I can 
give or wish nothing better. Truly you belong to him in con- 
sideration of his wife, the hereditary princess of Hungary and 
Bohemia. Again I repeat that I do not act thus solely from 
love to Albert and my daughter, but from a desire in my last 
moments to promote the true welfare of my people. Happy 
are those who are subject to Albert. I am confident he is no 
less beloved by you than by me, and that even without my 
exhortations you would unanimously give him your votes. But 
I beseech you by these tears, comfort my soul, which is de- 
parting to God, by confirming my choice and fulfilling my 
will." 

The emperor was so overcome with emotion that he could 
with difficulty pronounce these last words. All were deeply 
moved ; some wept aloud ; others, seizing the hand of the em- 
peror and bathing it in tears, vowed allegiance to Albert, and 
declared that while he lived they would recognize no other 
sovereign. 

The very next day, November, 1437, Sigismond died. Al- 
bert and Elizabeth accompanied his remains to Hungary. The 
Hungarian diet of barons unanimously ratified the wishes of 
the late king in accepting Albert as his successor. He then 
hastened to Bohemia, and, notwithstanding a few outbursts 
of disaffection, was received with great demonstrations of joy 
by the citizens of Prague, and was crowned in the cathedral. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ALBERT, LADISLAUS AND FREDERIC 

Erom 1440 to 1489. 

Increasing Honors of Albert V. — Encroachments op the Turks. — TnE Christians 
Routed. — Terror of the Hungarians. — Death of Albert. — Magnanimous Con- 
duct of Albert of Bavaria. — Internal Troubles. — Precocity of Ladislaus. — 
Fortifications raised by the Turks. — John Capistrun. — Eescue of Belgrade. 
— The Turks dispersed. — Exultation over the Victory. — Death of Hunni- 
ades. — Jealousy of Ladislaus. — His Death. — Brotherly Quarrels. — Devasta- 
tions by the Turks. — Invasion of Austria. — Eepeal of the Compromise. — Thb 
Emperor a Fugitive. 

THE kingdom of Bohemia thus attached to the duchies of 
Austria contained a population of some three millions, 
and embraced twenty thousand square miles of territory, being 
about three times as large as the State of Massachusetts. 
Hungary was a still more magnificent realm in extent of ter- 
ritory, being nearly five times as large as Bohemia, but inhab- 
ited by about the same number of people, widely dispersed. 
In addition to this sudden and vast accession of power, Albert 
was chosen Emperor of Germany. This distinguished sove- 
reign displayed as much wisdom and address in adminis- 
tering the affairs of the empire, as in governing his own 
kingdoms. 

The Turks were at this time becoming the terror of Chris- 
tendom. Originating in a small tribe between the Caspian Sea 
and the Euxine, they had with bloody cimeters overrun all 
Asia Minor, and, crossing the Hellespont, had intrenched them- 
selves firmly on the shores of Europe. Crowding on in vic- 
torious hosts, armed with the most terrible fanaticism, they 
had already obtained possession of Bulgaria, Servia, and Bos- 



64 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

nia, eastern dependencies of Hungary, and all Europe was 
trembling in view of their prowess, their ferocity and their 
apparently exhaustless legions. 

Sigismond, beholding the crescent of the Moslem floating 
over the castles of eastern Hungary, became alarmed for the 
kingdom, and sent ambassadors from court to court to form 
a crusade against the invaders. He was eminently successful, 
and an army of one hundred thousand men was soon collected, 
composed of the flower of the European nobility. The repub- 
lics of Venice and Genoa united to supply a fleet. With this 
powerful armament Sigismond, in person, commenced his 
march to Constantinople, which city the Turks were besieging, 
to meet the fleet there. The Turkish sultan himself gathered 
his troops and advanced to meet Sigismond. The Christian 
troops were utterly routed, and nearly all put to the sword. 
The emperor with difficulty escaped. In the confusion of the 
awful scene of carnage he threw himself unperceived into a 
small boat, and paddling down the Danube, as its flood swept 
through an almost uninhabited wilderness, he reached the 
Black Sea, where he was so fortunate as to find a portion of 
the fleet, and thus, by a long circuit, he eventually reached his 
home. 

Bajazet, the sultan, returned exultant from this great vic- 
tory, and resumed the siege of Constantinople, which ere long 
fell into the hands of the Turks. Amurath, who was sultan 
at the time of the death of Sigismond, thought the moment 
propitious for extending his conquests. He immediately, with 
his legions, overran Servia, a principality nearly the size of 
the State of Virginia, and containing a million of inhabitants. 
George, Prince of Servia, retreating before the merciless fol- 
lowers of the false prophet, threw himself with a strong gar- 
rison into the fortress of Semendria, and sent an imploring 
message to Albert for assistance. Servia was separated from 
Hungary only by the Danube, and it was a matter of infinite 
moment to Albert that the Turk should not get possession of 



ALBERT, LADISLAUS AND FREDERIC. 65 

that province, from which he could make constant forays into 
Hungary. 

Albert hastily collected an army and marched to the banks 
of the Danube just in time to witness the capture of Semen- 
dria and the massacre of its garrison. All Hungary was now 
in terror. The Turks in overwhelming numbers were firmly 
intrenched upon the banks of the Danube, and were preparing 
to cross the river and to supplant the cross Avith the crescent on 
all the plains of Hungary. The Hungarian nobles, in crowds, 
flocked to the standard of Albert, who made herculean exer- 
tions to meet and roll back the threatened tide of invasion. 
Exhausted by unremitting toil, he was taken sick and sud- 
denly died, on a small island of the Danube, on the lYth of 
October, 1439, in the forty-third year of his age. The death 
of such a prince, heroic and magnanimous, loving the arts of 
peace, and yet capable of wielding the energies of war, was 
an apparent calamity to Europe. 

Albert left two daughters, but his queen Elizabeth was 
expecting, in a few months, to give birth to another child. 
Every thing was thus involved in confusion, and for a time 
intrigue and violence ran riot. There were many diverse par- 
ties, the rush of armed bands, skirmishes and battles, and all 
the great matters of state were involved in an inextricable 
labyrinth of confusion. The queen gave birth to a son, who 
was baptized by the name of Ladislaus. Elizabeth, anxious 
to secure the crown of Hungary for her infant, had him sol- 
emnly crowned at Alba Regia, by the Archbishop of Gran 
when the child was but four months old. 

But a powerful party arose, opposed to the claims of the 
infant, and strove by force of arms to place upon the throne 
Uladislaus, King of Poland and Lithuania, and son of the 
pagan Jaghellon and the unhappy Hedwige. For two years 
war between the rival parties desolated the kingdom, when 
Elizabeth died- CJladislaus now redoubled his endeavors, and 
finally succeeded in driving the unconscious infant from his 



66 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA 

hereditary domain, and established himself firmly on the 
throne of Hungary. 

The infant prince was taken to Bohemia. There also he 
encountered violent opposition. "A child," said his oppo- 
nents, " can not govern. It will be long before Ladislaus will 
be capable of assuming the reins of government. Let us 
choose another sovereign, and when Ladislaus has attained 
the age of twenty-four we shall see whether he deserves the 
crown." 

This very sensible advice was adopted, and thirteen elect- 
ors were appointed to choose a sovereign. Their choice fell 
upon Albert of Bavaria. But he, with a spirit of magnanim- 
ity very rare in that age, declared that the crown, of right, 
belonged to Ladislaus, and that he would not take it from 
him. They then chose Frederic, Duke of Styria, who, upon 
the death of Albert, had been chosen emperor. Frederic, in- 
cited by the example of Albert, also declined, saying, " I will 
not rob my relation of his right." But anxious for the peace 
of the empire, he recommended that they should choose some 
illustrious Bohemian, to whom they should intrust the regency 
until Ladislaus became of age, offering himself to assume the 
guardianship of the young prince. 

This judicious advice was accepted, and the Bohemian 
nobles chose the infant Ladislaus their king. They, however, 
appointed two regents instead of one. The regents quarreled 
and headed two hostile parties. Anarchy and civil war deso- 
lated the kingdom, with fluctuations of success and discom- 
fiture attending the movements of either party. Thus several 
years of violence and blood passed on. One of the regents, 
George Podiebrad, drove his opponent from the realm and 
assumed regal authority. To legitimate its usurped power he 
summoned a diet at Pilgram, in 1447, and submitted the fol- 
lowing question : 

" Is it advantageous to the kingdom that Ladislaus should 
retain the crown, or would it not be more beneficial to choose 



67 

a monarch acquainted with our language and customs, and in- 
spired with love of our country ?" 

Warm opposition to this measure arose, and the nobles 
voted themselves loyal to Ladislaus. While these events were 
passing in Bohemia, scenes of similar violence were transpir- 
ing in Hungary. After a long series of convulsions, and Ula- 
dislaus, the Polish king, who had attained the crown of Hun- 
gary, having been slain in a battle with the Turks, a diet of 
Hungarian nobles was assembled and they also declared the 
young Ladislaus to be their king. They consequently wrote 
to the Emperor Frederic, Duke of Styria, who had assumed 
the guardianship of the prince, requesting that he might be 
sent to Hungary. Ladislaus Posthumous, so-called in conse- 
quence of his birth after the death of his father, was then but 
six years of age. 

The Austrian States were also in a condition of similar 
confusion, rival aspirants grasping at power, feuds agitating 
every province, and all moderate men anxious for that repose 
which could only be found by uniting in the claims of Ladis- 
laus for the crown. Thus Austria, Bohemia and Hungary, 
so singularly and harmoniously united under Albert V., so 
suddenly dissevered and scattered by the death of Albert, 
were now, after years of turmoil, all reuniting under the child 
Ladislaus. 

Frederic, however, the faithful guardian of the young 
prince, was devoting the utmost care to his education, and 
refused to accede to the urgent and reiterated requests to 
send the young monarch to his realms. When Ladislaus was 
about ten years of age the Emperor Frederic visited the pope 
at Rome, and took Ladislaus in his glittering suite. The pre- 
cocious child here astonished the learned men of the court, 
by delivering an oration in Latin before the consistory, and by 
giving many other indications of originality and vigor of mind 
far above his years. The pope became much attached to the 
youthful sovereign of three such important realms, and as 



68 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Frederic was about to visit Naples, Ladislaus remained a 
guest in the imperial palace. 

Deputies from the three nations repaired to Rome to urge 
the pope to restore to them their young sovereign. Failing 
in this, they endeavored to induce Ladislaus to escape with 
them. This plan also was discovered and foiled. The nobles 
were much irritated by these disappointments, and they re- 
solved to rescue him by force of arms. All over Hungary, 
Bohemia and Austria there was a general rising of the no- 
bles, nationalities being merged in the common cause, and all 
hearts united and throbbing with a common desire. An army 
of sixteen thousand men was raised. Frederic, alarmed by 
these formidable preparations for war, surrendered Ladislaus 
and he was conveyed in triumph to Vienna. A numerous as- 
semblage of the nobles of the three nations was convened, and 
it was settled that the young king, during his minority, should 
remain at Vienna, under the care of his maternal uncle, Count 
Cilli, who, in the meantime, was to administer the govern- 
ment of Austria. George Podiebrad was intrusted with the 
regency of Bohemia; and John Hunniades was appointed re- 
gent of Hungary. 

Ladislaus was now thirteen years of age. The most 
learned men of the age were appointed as his teachers, and 
he pursued his studies with great vigor. Count Cilli, how- 
ever, an ambitious and able man, soon gained almost unlimited 
control over the mind of his young ward, and became so arro- 
gant and dictatorial, filling every important office with his 
own especial friends, and removing those who displeased him, 
that general discontent was excited and conspiracy was formed 
against him. Cilli was driven from Vienna with insults and 
threats, and the conspirators placed the regency in the hands 
of a select number of their adherents. 

While affairs were in this condition, John Hunniades, as 
regent, was administering the government of Hungary with 
great vigor and sagacity. He was acquiring so much renown 



ALBEET, LADISLAUS AND FREDERIC. 69 

that Count Cilli regarded him with a very jealous eye, and 
excited the suspicions of the young king that Hunniades was 
seeking for himself the sovereignty of Hungary. Cilli en- 
deavored to lure Hunniades to Vienna, that he might seize his 
person, but the sagacious warrior was too wily to be thus 
entrapped. 

The Turks were now in the full tide of victory. They had 
conquered Constantinople, fortified both sides of the Bospo- 
rus and the Hellespont, overrun Greece and planted them- 
selves firmly and impregnably on the shores of Europe. Ma- 
homet II. was sultan, succeeding his father Amurath. He 
raised an army of two hundred thousand men, who were all 
inspired with that intense fanatic ferocity with which the 
Moslem then regarded the Christian. Marching resistlessly 
through Bulgaria and Servia, he contemplated the immediate 
conquest of Hungary, the bulwark of Europe. He advanced 
to the banks of the Danube and laid siege to Belgrade, a very 
important and strongly fortified town at the point where the 
Save enters the great central river of eastern Europe. 

Such an army, flushed with victory and inspired with all 
the energies of fanaticism, appalled the European powers. 
Ladislaus was but a boy, studious and. scholarly in his tastes, 
having developed but little physical energy and no executive 
vigor. He was very handsome, very refined in his tastes and 
courteous in his address, and he cultivated with great care the 
golden ringlets which clustered ar®und his shoulders. At the 
time of this fearful invasion Ladislaus was on a visit to Buda, 
one of the capitals of Hungary, on the Danube, but about 
three hundred miles above Belgrade. The young monarch, 
with his favorite, Cilli, fled ingloriously to Vienna, leaving 
Hunniades to breast as he could the Turkish hosts. But Hun- 
niades was, fortunately, equal to the emergence. 

A Franciscan monk, John Capistrun, endowed with the 
eloquence of Peter the Hermit, traversed Germany, displaying 
the cross and rousing Christians to defend Europe from the 



70 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

infidels. He soon collected a motley mass of forty thousand 
men, rustics, priests, students, soldiers, unarmed, undisciplined, 
a rabble rout, who followed him to the rendezvous where Hun- 
niades had succeeded in collecting a large force of the bold 
barons and steel-clad warriors of Hungary. The experienced 
chief gladly received this heterogeneous mass, and soon armed 
them, brought them into the ranks and subjected them to 
the severe discipline of military drill. 

At the head of this band, which was inspired with zeal 
equal to that of the Turk, the brave Hunniades, in a fleet of 
boats, descended the Danube. The river in front of Belgrade 
was covered with the flotilla of the Turks. The wall in many 
places was broken down, and at other points in the wall they 
had obtained a foothold, and the crescent was proudly un- 
furled to the breeze. The feeble garrison, worn out with toil 
and perishing with famine, were in the last stages of despair. 
Hunniades came down upon the Turkish flotilla like an inunda- 
tion ; both parties fought with almost unprecedented ferocity, 
but the Christians drove every thing before them, sinking, dis- 
persing, and capturing the boats, which were by no means pre- 
pared for so sudden and terrible an assault. The immense rein- 
forcement, with arms and provisions, thus entered the city, and 
securing the navigation of the Danube and the Save, opened 
the way for continued supplies. The immense hosts of the 
Mohammedans now girdled the city in a semicircle on the 
land side. Their tents, gorgeously embellished and surmounted 
with the crescent, glittered in the rays of the sun as far as the 
eye could extend. Squadrons of steel-clad horsemen swept 
the field, while bands of the besiegers pressed the city with- 
out intermission, night and day. 

Mohammed, irritated by this unexpected accession of 
strength to the besieged, in his passion ordered an immediate 
and simultaneous attack upon the town by his whole force. 
The battle was long and bloody, both parties struggling with 
utter desperation. The Turks were repulsed. After one of 



ALBEET, LADISLATJS AND FEEDEEIC. 71 

the longest continuous conflicts recorded in history, lasting all 
one night, and all the following day until the going down of 
the sun, the Turks, leaving thirty thousand of their dead be- 
neath the ramparts of the city, and taking with them the sul- 
tan desperately wounded, struck their tents in the darkness of 
the night and retreated. 

Great was the exultation in Hungary, in Germany and all 
over Europe. But this joy was speedily clouded by the intel- 
ligence that Hunniades, the deliverer of Europe from Moslem 
invasion, exhausted with toil, had been seized by a fever and 
had died. It is said that the young King Ladislaus rejoiced 
in his death, for he was greatly annoyed in having a subject 
attain such a degree of splendor as to cast his own name into 
insignificance. Hunniades left two sons, Ladislaus and Mat- 
thias. The king and Cilli manifested the meanest jealousy in 
reference to these young men, and fearful that the renown of 
their father, which had inspired pride and gratitude in every 
Hungarian heart, might give them power, they did every thing 
they could to humiliate and depress them. The king lured 
them both to Buda, where he perfidiously beheaded the eldest, 
Ladislaus, for wounding Cilli, in defending himself from an 
attack which the implacable count had made upon him, and he 
also threw the younger son, Matthias, into a prison. 

The widow of Hunniades, the heroic mother of these chil- 
dren, with a spirit worthy of the wife of her renowned hus- 
band, called the nobles to her aid. They rallied in great 
numbers, roused to indignation. The inglorious king, terrified 
by the storm he had raised, released Matthias, and fled from 
Buda to Vienna, pursued by the execrations and menaces of 
the Hungarians. 

He soon after repaired to Prague, in Bohemia, to solemnize 
his marriage with Magdalen, daughter of Charles VIL, King 
of France. He had just reached the city, and was making 
preparations for his marriage in unusual splendor, when he was 
attacked by a malignant disease, supposed to be the plague 



72 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

and died after a sickness of but thirty-six hours. The unhappy 
king, who, through the stormy scenes of his short life, had 
developed no grandeur of soul, was oppressed with the awful- 
ness of passing to the final judgment. In the ordinances of 
the Church he sought to find solace for a sinful and a troubled 
spirit. Having received the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
with dying lips he commenced repeating the Lord's prayer. 
He had just uttered the words " deliver us from evil," when 
his spirit took its flight to the judgment seat of Christ. 

Frederic, the emperor, Duke of Styria, was now the oldest 
lineal descendant of Rhodolph of Hapsburg, founder of the 
house of Austria. The imperial dignity had now degener- 
ated into almost an empty title. The Germanic empire con- 
sisted of a few large sovereignties and a conglomeration of 
petty dukedoms, principalities, and States of various names, 
very loosely held together, in their heterogeneous and inde- 
pendent rulers and governments, by one nominal sovereign 
upon whom the jealous States were willing to confer but little 
real power. A writer at that time, iEneas Sylvius, addressing 
the Germans, says : 

" Although you acknowledge the emperor for your king 
and master, he possesses but a precarious sovereignty ; he has 
no power ; you only obey him when you choose ; and you are 
seldom inclined to obey. You are all desirous to be free ; 
neither the princes nor the States render to him what is due. 
He has no revenue, no treasure. Hence you are involved in 
endless contests and daily wars. Hence also rapine, murder, 
conflagrations, and a thousand evils which arise from divided 
authority." 

Upon the death of Ladislaus there was a great rush and 
grasping for the vacant thrones of Bohemia and Hungary, 
and for possession of the rich dukedoms of Austria. After a 
long conflict the Austrian estates were divided into three por- 
tions. Frederic, the emperor, took Upper Austria ; his brother 
Albert, who had succeeded to the Swiss estates, took Lower 



73 

Austria ; Sigismond, Albert's nephew, a man of great energy 
of character, took Carinthia. The three occupied the palace 
in Vienna in joint residence. 

The energetic regent, George Podiebrad, by adroit diplo- 
macy succeeded, after an arduous contest, in obtaining the 
election by the Bohemian nobles to the throne of Bohemia. 
The very day he was chosen he was inaugurated at Prague, 
and though rival candidates united with the pope to depose 
him, he maintained his position against them all. 

Frederic, the emperor, had been quite sanguine in the 
hopes of obtaining the crown of Bohemia. Bitterly disap- 
pointed there, he at first made a show of hostile resistance ; 
but thinking better of the matter, he concluded to acquiesce 
in the elevation of Podiebrad, to secure amicable relations with 
liim, and to seek his aid in promotion of his efforts to obtain 
the crown of Hungary. Here again the emperor failed. The 
nobles assembled in great strength at Buda, and elected unani- 
mously Matthias, the only surviving son of the heroic Hun- 
niades, whose memory was embalmed in the hearts of all the 
Hungarians. The boy then, for he was but a boy, and was 
styled contemptuously by the disappointed Frederic the boy 
king, entered into an alliance with Podiebrad for mutual pro- 
tection, and engaged the hand of his daughter in marriage. 
Thus was the great kingdom of Austria, but recently so pow- 
erful in the union of all the Austrian States with Bohemia and 
Hungary, again divided and disintegrated. The emperor, in 
his vexation, foolishly sent an army of five thousand men into 
Hungary, insanely hoping to take the crown by force of arms, 
but he was soon conrpelled to relinquish the hopeless enter- 
prise. 

And now Frederic and Albert began to quarrel at Vienna. 
The emperor was arrogant and domineering. Albert was 
irritable and jealous. First came angry words ; then the en- 
listing of partisans, and then all the miseries of fierce and de- 
termined civil war. The capital was divided into hostile fac- 

4 



74 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

tions, and the whole country was ravaged by the sweep of 
armies. The populace of Vienna, espousing the cause of Al- 
bert, rose in insurrection, pillaged the houses of the adherents 
of Frederic, drove Frederic, with his wife and infant child, into 
the citadel, and invested the fortress. Albert placed himself 
at the head of the insurgents and conducted the siege. The 
emperor, though he had but two hundred men in the gar- 
rison, held out valiantly. But famine would soon have com- 
pelled him to capitulate, had not the King of Bohemia, with 
a force of thirteen thousand men, marched to his aid. Podie- 
brad relieved the emperor, and secured a verbal reconciliation 
between the two angry brothers, which lasted until the Bo- 
hemian forces had returned to their country, when the feud 
burst out anew and with increased violence. The emperor 
procured the ban of the empire against his brother, and the 
pope excommunicated him. Still Albert fought fiercely, and 
the strife raged without intermission until Albert suddenly 
died on the 4th of December, 1463. 

The Turks, w T ho, during all these years, had been making 
predatory excursions along the frontiers of Hungary, now, 
in three strong bands of ten thousand each, overran Servia 
and Bosnia, and spread their devastations even into the heart 
of Illyria, as far as the metropolitan city of Laybach. The 
ravages of fire and sword marked their progress. They burnt 
every village, every solitary cottage, and the inhabitants were 
indiscriminately slain. Frederic, the emperor, a man of but 
little energy, was at his country residence at Lintz, apparently 
more anxious, writes a contemporary, " to shield his plants 
from frost, than to defend his domains against these bar- 
barians." 

The bold barons of Carniola, however, rallied their vassals, 
raised an army of twenty thousand men, and drove the Turks 
back to the Bosphorus. But the invaders, during their unim- 
peded march, had slain six thousand Christians, and they car- 
ried back with them eight thousand captives. 



ALBERT, LADISLAUS AND FREDERIC. 75 

Again, a few years after, the Turks, with a still larger 
army, rushed through the defiles of the Illyrian mountains, 
upon the plains of Carinthia. Their march was like the flow 
of volcanic fire. They left behind them utter desolation, 
smouldering hearth-stones and fields crimsoned with blood. 
At length they retired of their own accord, dragging after 
them twenty thousand captives. During a period of twenty- 
seven years, under the imbecile reign of Frederic, the very 
heart of Europe was twelve times scourged by the inroads of 
these savages. No tongue can tell the woes which were in- 
flicted upon humanity. Existence, to the masses of the peo- 
ple, in that day, must indeed have been a curse. Ground to 
the very lowest depths of poverty by the exactions of .eccle- 
siastics and nobles, in rags, starving, with no social or intel- 
lectual joys, they might indeed have envied the beasts of the 
field. 

The conduct of Frederic seems to be marked with increas- 
ing treachery and perfidy. Jealous of the growing power 
of George Podiebrad, he instigated Matthias, King of Hun- 
gary, to make war upon Bohemia, promising Matthias the 
Bohemian crown. Infamously the King of Hungary accepted 
the bribe, and raising a powerful army, invaded Bohemia, to 
wrest the crown from his father-in-law. His armies were 
pressing on so victoriously, in conjunction with those of Fred- 
eric, that the emperor was now alarmed lest Matthias, unit- 
ing the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia, should become too 
powerful. He therefore not only abandoned him, but stirred 
up an insurrection among the Hungarian nobles, which com- 
pelled Matthias to abandon Bohemia and return home. 

Matthias, having quelled the insurrection, was so enraged 
with the emperor, that he declared war against him, and im- 
mediately invaded Austria. The emperor was now so dis- 
trusted that he could not find a single ally. Austria alone, 
was no match for Hungary. Matthias overran all Lower Aus- 
tria, took all the fortresses upon the Danube, and invested 



^6 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

Vienna. The emperor fled in dismay to Lintz, and was obliged 
to purchase an ignominious peace by an immense sum of 
money, all of which was of course to be extorted by taxes on 
the miserable and starving peasantry. 

Poland, Bohemia and the Turks, now all pounced upon 
Hungary, and Frederic, deeming this a providential indica- 
tion that Hungary could not enforce the fulfillment of the 
treaty, refused to pay the money. Matthias, greatly exasper- 
ated, made the best terms he could with Poland, and again 
led his armies in Austria. For four years the warfare raged 
fiercely, when all Lower Austria, including the capital, was 
in the hands of Matthias, and the emperor was driven from 
his hereditary domains ; and, accompanied by a few followers, 
he wandered a fugitive from city to city, from convent to con- 
vent, seeking aid from all, but finding none. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE EMPERORS FREDERIC II. AND MAXIMILIAN L 

From 147? to 1500 

Wanderings op the Emperor Frederic— Proposed Alliance with the Duke ov 
Burgundy. — Mutual Distrust. — Marriage of Mart. — The Age of Chivalry.— 
The Motive inducing the Lord of Praunstein to declare "War. — Death of 
Frederic II. — The Emperor's Secret. — Designs of the Turks. — Death of Ma- 
homet II.— First Establishment of standing Armies.— Use of Gunpowder.— 
Energy of Maximilian. — French Aggressions. — The League to expel the 
French— Disappointments of Maximilian. — Bribing the Pope.— Invasion of 
Italy. — Capture and Recapture. — The Chevalier De Bayard. 

ADVERSITY only developed more fully the weak and 
ignoble character of Frederic. He wandered about, rec- 
ognized Emperor of Germany, but a fugitive from his own 
Austrian estates, occasionally encountering pity, but never 
sympathy or respect. Matthias professed his readiness to sur- 
render Austria back to Frederic so soon as he would fulfill the 
treaty by paying the stipulated money. Frederic was accom- 
panied in his wanderings by his son Maximilian, a remarkably 
elegant lad, fourteen years of age. They came to the court 
of the powerful Duke of Burgundy. The dukedom extended 
over wide realms, populous and opulent, and the duke had the 
power of a sovereign but not the regal title. He was ambi- 
tious of elevating his dukedom into a kingdom and of being 
crowned king ; and he agreed to give his only daughter and 
heiress, Mary, a beautiful and accomplished girl, to the emper- 
or's son Maximilian, if Frederic would confer upon his estates 
the regal dignity and crown him king. The bargain was 
made, and Maximilian and Mary both were delighted, for they 
regarded each other with all the warmth of young lovers. 
Mary, heiress to the dukedom of Burgundy, was a prize which 



?8 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

any monarch might covet ; and half the princes of Europe 
were striving for her hand. 

But now came a new difficulty. Neither the emperor nor 
duke had the slightest confidence in each other. The King ot 
France, who had hoped to obtain the hand of Mary for his son 
the dauphin, caused the suspicion to be whispered into the ear 
of Frederic that the Duke of Burgundy sought the kingly 
crown only as the first step to the imperial crown ; and that 
so soon as the dukedom was elevated into a kingdom, Charles, 
the Duke of Burgundy, would avail himself of his increased 
power, to dethrone Frederic and grasp the crown of Germany. 
This was probably all true. Charles, fully understanding the per- 
fidious nature of Frederic, did not dare to solemnize the mar- 
riage until he first should be crowned. Frederic, on the other 
hand, did not dare to crown the duke until the marriage was 
solemnized, for he had no confidence that the duke, after hav- 
ing attained the regal dignity, would fulfill his pledge. 

Charles was for hurrying the coronation, Frederic for push- 
ing the marriage. A magnificent throne was erected in the 
cathedral at Treves, and preparations were making on the 
grandest scale for the coronation solemnities, when Frederic, 
who did not like to tell the duke plumply to his face that he 
was fearful of being cheated, extricated himself from his em- 
barrassment by feigning important business which called him 
suddenly to Cologne. A scene of petty and disgraceful in- 
trigues ensued between the exasperated duke and emperor, 
and there were the marching and the countermarching of hos- 
tile bands and the usual miseries of war, until the death of 
Duke Charles at the battle of Nancy on the 5th of January, 
1477. 

The King of France now made a desperate endeavor to 
obtain the hand of Mary for his son. One of the novel acts 
of this imperial .courtship, was to send an army into Burgundy, 
which wrested a large portion of Mary's dominions from her, 
which the king, Louis XL, refused to surrender unless Mary 



FREDERIC II. AND MAXIMILIAN I. 79 

would marry his son. Many of her nobles urged the claims 
of France. But love in the heart of Mary was stronger than 
political expediency, and more persuasive than the entreaties 
of her nobles. To relieve herself from importunity, she was 
hurriedly married, three months after the death of her father, 
by proxy to Maximilian. 

In August the young prince, but eighteen years of age, 
with a splendid retinue, made his public entry into Ghent. 
His commanding person and the elegance of his manners, at- 
tracted universal admiration. His subjects rallied with enthu- 
siasm around him, and, guided by his prowess, in a continued 
warfare of five years, drove the invading French from their 
territories. But death, the goal to which every one tends, 
was suddenly and unexpectedly reached by Mary. She died 
the 7th of August, 1479, leaving two infant children, Philip 
and Margaret. 

The Emperor Frederic also succeeded, by diplomatic cun- 
ning, in convening the diet of electors and choosing Maximil- 
ian as his successor to the imperial throne. Frederic and 
Maximilian now united in the endeavor to recover Austria 
from the King of Hungary. The German princes, however, 
notwithstanding the summons of the emperor, refused to take 
any part in the private quarrels of Austria, and thus the battle 
would have to be fought between the troops of Maximilian 
and of Matthias. Maximilian prudently decided that it would 
be better to purchase the redemption of the territory with 
money than with blood. The affair was in negotiation when 
Matthias was taken sick and died the 15th of July, 1490. He 
left no heir, and the Hungarian nobles chose Ladislaus, King 
of Bohemia, to succeed him. Maximilian had been confident 
of obtaining the crown of Hungary. Exasperated by the dis- 
appointment, he'relinquished all idea of purchasing his patri- 
monial estates, but making a sudden rush with his troops upon 
the Hungarians, he drove them out of Austria, and pursued 
them far over the frontiers of Hungary. Ladislaus, the new 



80 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

King of Hungary, now listened to terms of peace. A singu- 
lar treaty was made. The Bohemian king was to retain the 
crown of Hungary, officiating as reigning monarch, while Maxi- 
milian was to have the title of King of Hungary. Ladislaus 
relinquished all claim to the Austrian territories, and paid a 
large sum of money as indemnity for the war. 

Thus Austria again comes into independent existence, to 
watch amidst the tumult and strife of Europe for opportuni- 
ties to enlarge her territories and increase her power. Maxi- 
milian was a prince, energetic and brave, who would not allow 
any opportunity to escape him. In those dark days of vio- 
lence and of blood, every petty quarrel was settled by the 
sword. All over Germany the clash of steel against steel was 
ever resounding. Not only kings and dukes engaged in wars, 
but the most insignificant baron would gather his few retain- 
ers around him and declare formal war against the occupant 
of the adjacent castle. The spirit of chivalry, so called, was 
so rampant that private individuals would send a challenge 
to the emperor. Contemporary writers record many curious 
specimens of these declarations of war. The Lord of Praun- 
stein declared war against the city of Frankfort, because a 
young lady of that city refused to dance with his uncle at a 
ball. 

Frederic was now suffering from the infirmities of age. 
Surrendering the administration of affairs, both in Austria and 
over the estates of the empire, to Maximilian, he retired, with 
his wife and three young daughters, to Lintz, where he de- 
voted himself, at the close of his long and -turbulent reign, to 
the peaceful pursuits of rural life. A cancerous affection of 
the leg rendered it necessary for him to submit to the ampu- 
tation of the limb. He submitted to the painful operation 
with the greatest fortitude, and taking up his severed limb, 
with his accustomed phlegm remarked to those standing by, 

" What difference is there between an emperor and a peas- 
ant ? Or rather, is not a sound peasant better than a sick em- 



FEEDERIC II. AND MAXIMILIAN I. 81 

peror? Yet I hope to enjoy the greatest good which can nap- 
pen to man — a happy exit from this transitory life." 

The shock of a second amputation, which from the vitiated 
state of his blood seemed necessary, was too great for his en- 
feebled frame to bear. He died August 19th, 1493, seventy- 
eight years of age, and after a reign of fifty-three years. He 
was what would be called, in these days, an ultra temper- 
ance man, never drinking even wine, and expressing ever the 
strongest abhorrence of alcoholic drinks, calling them the 
parent of all vices. He seems to have anticipated the future 
greatness of Austria ; for he had imprinted upon all his books, 
engraved upon his plate and carved into the walls of his pal- 
ace a mysterious species of anagram composed of the five vow- 
els, A, E, I, O, U. 

The significance of this great secret no one could obtain 
from him. It of course excited great curosity, as it every- 
where met the eye of the public. After his death the riddle 
was solved by finding among his papers the following inter- 
pretation — 

Austri Est Imperare Orbi Wniverso. 

Austria Is To govern The world Universal. 

Maximilian, in the prime of manhood, energetic, ambitious, 
and invested with the imperial dignity, now assumed the gov- 
ernment of the Austrian States. The prospect of greatness 
was brilliant before Maximilian. The crowns of Bohemia 
and Hungary were united in the person of Ladislaus, who 
was without children. As Maximilian already enjoyed the 
title of King of Hungary, no one enjoyed so good a chance 
as he of securing both of those crowns so soon as they should 
fall from the brow of Ladislaus. 

Europe was still trembling before the threatening cimeter 
of the Turk. Mahomet II., having annihilated the Greek em- 
pire, and consolidated his vast power, and checked in his 
career by the varlike barons of Hungary, now cast a lustful 

eye across the Adriatic to the shores of Italy. He crossed the 

4* 



82 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

sea, landed a powerful army and established twenty thousand 
men, strongly garrisoned, at Otranto, and supplied with pro- 
visions for a year. All Italy was in consternation, for a pas- 
sage was now open directly from Turkey to Naples and 
Home. Mahomet boasted that he would soon feed his horse 
on the altar of St. Peter's. The pope, Sextus IV., in dismay, 
was about abandoning Rome, and as there was no hope of 
uniting the discordant States of Italy in any effectual resist- 
ance, it seemed inevitable that Italy, like Greece, would soon 
become a Turkish province. And where then could it be 
hoped that the ravages of the Turks would be arrested ? 

In this crisis, so alarming, Providence interposed, and the 
sudden death of Mahomet, in the vigor of his pride and am- 
bition, averted the danger. Bajazet II. succeeded to the 
Moslem throne, an indolent and imbecile sultan. Insurrec- 
tion in his own dominions exhausted all his feeble energies. 
The Neapolitans, encouraged, raised an army, recovered 
Otranto, and drove the Turks out of Italy. Troubles in the 
Turkish dominions now gave Christendom a short respite, as 
all the strength of the sultan was required to subjugate insur- 
gent Circassia and Egypt. 

Though the Emperor of Germany was esteemed the first 
sovereign in Europe, and, on state occasions, was served by 
kings and electors, he had in reality but little power. The 
kings who formed his retinue on occasions of ceremonial 
pomp, were often vastly his superiors in wealth and power. 
Frequently he possessed no territory of his own, not even a 
castle, but depended upon the uncertain aids reluctantly 
granted by the diet. 

Gunpowder was now coming into use as one of the most 
efficient engines of destruction, and was working great changes 
in the science of war. It became necessary to have troops 
drilled to the use of cannon and muskets. The baron could 
no longer summon his vassals, at the moment, to abandon the 
plow, and seize pike and saber for battle, where the strong 



FEEDERIC II. AND MAXIMILIAN I. 83 

arm only was needed. Disciplined troops were needed, who 
could sweep the field with well-aimed bullets, and crumble 
walls with shot and shells. This led to the establishment of 
standing armies, and gave the great powers an immense ad- 
vantage over their weaker neighbors. The invention of 
printing, also, which began to be operative about the middle 
of the fifteenth century, rapidly changed, by the diffusion of 
intelligence, the state of society, hitherto so barbarous. The 
learned men of Greece, driven from their country by the 
Turkish invasion, were scattered over Europe, and contrib- 
uted not a little to the extension of the love of letters. The 
discovery of the mariner's compass and improvements in 
nautical astronomy, also opened new sources of knowledge 
and of wealth, and the human mind all over Europe com- 
menced a new start in the career of civilization. Men of let- 
ters began to share in those honors which heretofore had 
belonged exclusively to men of war ; and the arts of peace 
began to claim consideration with those who had been accus- 
tomed to respect only the science of destruction. 

Maximilian was at Innspruck when he received intelli- 
gence of the death of his father. He commenced his reign 
with an act of rigor which was characteristic of his whole 
career. A horde of Turks had penetrated Styria and Car- 
niola, laying every thing waste before them as far as Carniola. 
Maximilian, sounding the alarm, inspired his countrymen with 
the same energy which animated his own breast. Fifteen 
thousand men rallied at the blast of his bugles. Instead of 
intrusting the command of them to his generals, he placed 
himself at their head, and made so fierce an onset upon the 
invaders, that they precipitately fled. Maximilian returned 
at the head of his troops triumphant to Vienna, where he was 
received with acclamations such as had seldom resounded in 
the metropolis. He was hailed as the deliverer of his coun- 
try, and at once rose to the highest position in the esteem and 
affection of the Austrians. 



84 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Maximilian had encountered innumerable difficulties in 
Burgundy, and was not unwilling to escape from the vexa- 
tions and cares of that distant dukedom, by surrendering its 
government to his son Philip, who was now sixteen years of 
age, and whom the Burgundians claimed to be their ruler as 
the heir of Mary. The Swiss estates were also sundered from 
Austrian dominion, and, uniting with the Swiss confederacy, 
were no longer subject to the house of Hapsburg. Thus 
Maximilian had the Austrian estates upon the Danube only, 
as the nucleus of the empire he was ambitious of establish- 
ing. 

Conscious of his power, and rejoicing in the imperial title, 
he had no idea of playing an obscure part on the conspicuous 
stage of European affairs. With an eagle eye he watched the 
condition of the empire, and no less eagerly did he fix his eye 
upon the movements of those great southern powers, now be- 
coming consolidated into kingdoms and empires, and mar- 
shaling armies wdiich threatened again to bring all Europe 
under a dominion as wide and despotic as that of Rome. 

Charles VIIL, King of France, crossed the Alps with an 
army of twenty-two thousand men, in the highest state of dis- 
cipline, and armed with all the modern enginery of war. With 
ease he subjugated Tuscany, and in a triumphant march 
through Pisa and Siena, entered Rome as a conqueror. It 
was the 31st of December, 1394, when Charles, by torchlight, 
at the head of his exultant troops, entered the eternal city. 
The pope threw himself into the castle of St. Angelo, but was 
soon compelled to capitulate and to resign all his fortresses to 
the conqueror. Charles then continued his march to Naples, 
which he reached on the 22d of February. He overran and 
subjugated the whole kingdom, and, having consolidated his 
conquest, entered Najries on a white steed, beneath imperial 
banners, and arrogantly assumed the title of King of Naples, 
Sicily and Jerusalem. Alphonso, King of Naples, in despair, 
abdicated in favor of his son, Ferdinand; and Ferdinand, 






FEEDEEIC I] AND MAXIMILIAN I. 85 

unable to oppose any effectual resistance, abandoned his king- 
dom to the conqueror, and fled to the island of Ischia. 

These alarming aggressions on the part of France, already 
very powerful, excited general consternation throughout Eu- 
rope. Maximilian, as emperor, was highly incensed, and roused 
all his energies to check the progress of so dangerous a rival. 
The Austrian States alone could by no means cope with the 
kingdom of France. Maximilian sent agents to the pope, to 
the Dukes of Milan and Florence, and to the King of Arragon, 
and formed a secret league to expel the French from Italy, 
and restore Ferdinand to Naples. It was understood that the 
strength of France was such, that this enterprise could only 
be achieved through a long war, and that the allies must con- 
tinue united to prevent France, when once expelled from Italy, 
from renewing her aggressions. The league was to continue 
twenty-two years. The pope was to furnish six thousand men, 
and the other Italian States twelve thousand. Maximilian 
promised to furnish nine thousand. Venice granted the troops 
of the emperor a free passage through her dominions. 

These important first steps being thus taken secretly and 
securely, the emperor summoned a diet of Germany to enlist 
the States of the empire in the enterprise. This was the most 
difficult task, and yet nothing could be accomplished without 
the cooperation of Germany. But the Germanic States, loosely 
held together, jealous of each other, each grasping solely at its 
own aggrandizement, reluctantly delegating any power to the 
emperor, were slow to promise cooperation in any general en- 
terprise, and having promised, were still slower to perform. 
The emperor had no power to enforce the fulfillment of agree- 
ments, and could only supplicate. During the long reign of 
Frederic the imperial dignity had lapsed more and more into 
an empty title ; and Maximilian had an arduous' task before 
him in securing even respectful attention to his demands. He 
was fully aware of the difficulties, and made arrangements ac- 
cordingly. 



86 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

The memorable diet was summoned at Worms, on the 
26th of May, 1496. The emperor had succeeded, by great 
exertion, in assembling a more numerous concourse of the 
princes and nobles of the empire than had ever met on a sim- 
ilar occasion. He presided in person, and in a long and ear- 
nest address endeavored to rouse the empire to a sense of its 
own dignity and its own high mission as the regulator of the 
affairs of Europe. He spoke earnestly of their duty to com- 
bine and chastise the insolence of the Turks ; but waiving 
that for the present moment, he unfolded to them the dangei 
to which Europe was immediately and imminently exposed by 
the encroachments of France. To add to the force of his 
words, he introduced ambassadors from the King of Naples, 
who informed the assembly of the conquests of the French, 
of their haughty bearing, and implored the aid of the diet to 
repel the invaders. The Duke of Milan was then presented, 
and, as a member of the empire, he implored as a favor and 
claimed as a right, the armies of the empire for the salvation 
of his duchy. And then the legate of the pope, in the robes 
of the Church, and speaking in the name of the Holy Father 
to his children, pathetically described the indignities to which 
the pope had been exposed, driven from his palace, bombarded 
in the fortress to which he had retreated, compelled to capitu- 
late and leave his kingdom in the hands of the enemy ; he 
expatiated upon the impiety of the French troops, the sacri- 
legious horrors of which they had been guilty, and in tones of 
eloquence hardly surpassed by Peter the Hermit, strove to 
rouse them to a crusade for the rescue of the pope and his 
sacred possessions. • 

Maximilian had now exhausted all his powers of persua- 
sion. He had done apparently enough to rouse every heart 
to intensest action. But the diet listened coldly to all these 
appeals, and then in substance replied, 

" We admit the necessity of checking the incursions of the 
Turks ; we admit that it is important to check the progress of 



FREDERIC II. AND MAXIMILIAN I. 87 

the French. But oui first duty is to secure peace in Ger- 
many. The States of the empire are embroiled in incessant 
wars with each other. All attempts to prevent these private 
wars between the States of the empire have hitherto failed. 
Before we can vote money and men for any foreign enterprise 
whatever, we must secure internal tranquillity. This can only 
be done by establishing a supreme tribunal, supported by a 
power which can enforce its decisions." 

These views were so manifestly judicious, that Maximilian 
assented to them, and, anxious to lose no time in raising troops 
to expel the French from Italy, he set immediately about the 
organization of an imperial tribunal to regulate the internal 
affairs of the empire. A court w T as created called the Imperial 
Chamber. It was composed of a president and sixteen judges, 
half of whom were taken from the army, and half from the 
class of scholars. To secure impartiality, the judges held their 
office for life. A majority of suffrages decided a question, 
and in case of a tie, the president gave a casting vote. The 
emperor reserved the right of deciding certain questions him- 
self. This court gradually became one of the most important 
and salutary institutions of the German empire. 

By the 7th of August these important measures were ar- 
ranged. Maximilian had made great concessions of his impe- 
rial dignity in transferring so much of his nominal power to 
the Imperial Chamber, and he was now sanguine that the 
States would vote him the supplies which were needed to ex- 
pel the French from Italy, or, in more honest words, to win for 
the empire in Italy that ascendency which France had at- 
tained. But bitter indeed was his disappointment. After 
long deliberation and vexatious delays, the diet voted a ridicu- 
lous sum, less than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to 
raise an army " sufficient to check the progress of the French." 
One third of this sum Maximilian was to raise from his Aus- 
trian States ; + he remaining two thirds he was permitted to 
obtain by a loan. Four years were to be allowed for raising 



88 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

the money, and the emperor, as a condition for the reception 
of even this miserable boon, was required to pledge his word 
of honor that at the expiration of the four years he would 
raise no more. And even these hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars were to be intrusted to seven treasurers, to be admin- 
istered according to their discretion. One only of these treas- 
urers was to be chosen by the emperor, and the other six by 
the diet. 

Deeply chagrined by this result, Maximilian was able to 
raise only three thousand men, instead of the nine thousand 
which he had promised the league. Charles VIII., informed 
of the formidable coalition combining against him, and not 
aware of the feeble resources of the emperor, apprehensive 
that the armies of Germany, marching down and uniting with 
the roused States of Italy, might cut off his retreat and over- 
whelm him, decided that the " better part of courage is dis- 
cretion ;" and he accordingly abandoned his conquests, re- 
crossed the Apennines, fought his backward path through 
Italy, and returned to France. He, however, left behind him 
six thousand men strongly intrenched, to await his return 
with a new and more powerful armament. 

Maximilian now resolved chivalrously to throw himself into 
Italy, and endeavor to rouse the Italians themselves to resist 
the threatened invasion, trusting that the diet of Germany, 
when they should see him struggling against the hosts of 
France, would send troops to his aid. "With five hundred 
horse, and about a thousand foot soldiers, he crossed the 
Alps. Here he learned that for some unknown reason Charles 
had postponed his expedition. Recoiling from the ridicule 
attending a quixotic and useless adventure, he hunted around 
for some time to find some heroic achievement which would 
redeem his name from reproach, when, thwarted in every 
thing, he returned to Austria, chagrined and humiliated. 

Thus frustrated in all his attempts to gain ascendency in 
Italy, Maximilian turned his eyes to the Swiss estates of the 



FREDERIC II. AND MAXIMILIAN I. 89 

house of Hapsburg, now sundered from the Austrian terri- 
tories. He made a vigorous effort, first by diplomacy, then 
by force of arms, to regain them. Here again he was frus- 
trated, and was compelled to enter into a capitulation by 
which he acknowledged the independence of the Helvetic 
States, and their permanent severance from Austrian juris- 
diction. 

In April, 1498, Charles VIII. died, and Louis XII. suc- 
ceeded him on the throne of France. Louis immediately 
made preparations for a new invasion of Italy. In those 
miserable days of violence and blood, almost any prince was 
ready to embark in war under anybody's banner, where there 
was the least prospect -of personal aggrandizement. The 
question of right or wrong, seemed seldom to enter any one's 
mind. Louis fixed his eyes upon the duchy of Milan as the 
richest and most available prize within his grasp. Conscious 
that he would meet with much opposition, he looked around 
for allies. 

"If you will aid me," he said to Pope Alexander VI., " I 
will assist you in your war against the Duke of Romagna. I 
will give your son, Caesar Borgia,* a pension of two thousand 
dollars a year, will confer upon him an important command 
in my army, and will procure for him a marriage with a prin- 
cess of the royal house of Navarre." 

The holy father could not resist this bribe, and eagerly 
joined the robber king in his foray. To Venice Louis said — 

" If you will unite with me, I will assist you in annexing 
to your domains the city of Cremona, and the Ghiaradadda." 
Lured by such hopes of plunder, Venice was as eager as the 
pope to take a share in the piratic expedition. Louis then 
sent to the court of Turin, and offered them large sums of 
money and increased territory, if they would allow him a free 

* Caesar Borgia, who has filled the world with the renown of his infamy, 
was the illegitimc te son of Alexander VI., and of a Roman lady named 
Vanozza. 



90 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

passage across the Alps. Turin bowed obsequiously, and 
grasped at the easy bargain. To Florence he said, " If you 
raise a hand to assist the Duke of Milan, I will crush you. If 
you remain quiet, I will leave you unharmed." Florence, 
overawed, remained as meek as a lamb. The diplomacy being 
thus successfully closed, an army of twenty-two thousand men 
was put in vigorous motion in July, 1499. They crossed the 
Alps, fought a few battles, in which, with overpowering num- 
bers, they easily conquered their opposers, and in twenty days 
were in possession of Milan. The Duke Ludovico with diffi- 
culty escaped. With a few followers he threaded the denies 
of the Tyrolese mountains, and hastened to Innspruck, the 
capital of Tyrol, where Maximilian then was, to whom he con- 
veyed the first tidings of his disaster. Louis XII. followed 
after his triumphant army, and on the 6th of October made a 
triumphal entry into the captured city, and was inaugurated 
Duke of Milan. 

Maximilian promised assistance, but could raise neither 
money nor men. Ludovico, however, succeeded in hiring fif- 
teen hundred Burgundian horsemen, and eight thousand Swiss 
mercenaries — for in those ages of ignorance and crime all, men 
were ready, for pay, to fight in any cause — and emerging 
from the mountains upon the plains of Milan, found all his 
former subjects disgusted with the French, and eager to rally 
under his banners. His army increased at every step. He 
fell fiercely upon the invaders, routed them everywhere, drove 
them from the duchy, and recovered his country and his 
capital as rapidly as he had lost them. One fortress only the 
French maintained. The intrepid Chevalier De Bayard, the 
knight without fear and without reproach, threw himself into 
the citadel of Novarra, and held out against all the efforts of 
Ludovico, awaiting the succor which he was sure would come 
from his powerful sovereign the King of France. 



CHAPTER VI. 

MAXIMILIAN I. 
From 1500 to 1519. 

Base Treachery of tiie Swiss Soldiers. — Perfidy of Ferdinand of Arragok— 
Appeals by Superstition. — Coalition with Spain. — TnE League of Cambray.— 
Infamy of the Pope. — The King's Apology. — Failure of the Plot. — Germany 
aroused.— Confidence of Maximilian.— Longings for the Pontifical Chair. — 
Maximilian bribed. — Leo X. — Dawning Prosperity. — Matrimonial Projects. — 
Commencement of the "War of Preformation. — Sickness of Maximilian. — Hi& 
last Directions. — His Death. — The Standard by which his Character is to 
be Judged. 

LOUIS XII., stung by the disgrace of his speedy expulsion 
from Milan, immediately raised another army of five thou- 
sand horse and fifteen thousand foot to recover his lost plun- 
der. He also sent to Switzerland to hire troops, and without 
difficulty engaged ten thousand men to meet, on the plains of 
Milan, the six thousand of their brethren whom Ludovico had 
hired, to hew each other to pieces for the miserable pittance 
of a few pennies a day. But Louis XII. w r as as great in diplo- 
macy as in war. He sent secret emissaries to the Swiss in the 
camp of Ludovico, offering them larger wages if they would 
abandon the service of Ludovico and return home. They 
promptly closed the bargain, unfurled the banner of mutiny, 
and informed the Duke of Milan that they could not, in con- 
science, fight against their own brethren. The duke was in 
despair. He plead even with tears that they would not aban- 
don him. All was in vain. They not only commenced their 
march home, but basely betrayed the duke to the French. 
He was taken prisoner by Louis, carried to France and for five 
years was kept in rigoro is confinement in the strong fortresses 



92 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

of the kingdom. Afterward, through the intercession of Maxi- 
milian, he was allowed a little more freedom. He was, how- 
ever, kept in captivity until he died in the year 1510. Ludo- 
vico merits no commiseration. He was as perfidious and un- 
principled as any of his assailants could be. 

The recon quest of Milan by Louis, and the capture of Lu- 
dovico, aiarmed Maximilian and roused him to new efforts. 
He again summoned the States of the empire and implored 
their cooperation to resist the aggressions of France. But 
he was as unsuccessful as in his previous endeavors. Louis 
watched anxiously the movements of the German diet, and 
finding that he had nothing to fear from the troops of the em- 
pire, having secured the investiture of Milan, prepared for the 
Invasion of Naples. The venal pope was easily bought over. 
Even Ferdinand, the King of Arragon, was induced to loan his 
connivance to a plan for robbing a near relative of his crown, 
by the promise of sharing in the spoil. A treaty of partition 
was entered into by the two robber kings, by which Ferdinand 
of Arragon was to receive Calabria and Apulia, and the King 
of France the remaining States of the Neapolitan kingdom. 
The pope was confidentially informed of this secret plot, which 
was arranged at Grenada, and promised the plunderers his 
benediction, in consideration of the abundant reward promised 
to him. 

The doom of the King of Naples was now sealed. All un- 
conscious that his own relative, Ferdinand of Arragon, was 
conspiring against him, he appealed to Ferdinand for aid against 
the King of France. The perfidious king considered this as 
quite a providential interposition in his favor. He affected 
great zeal for the King of Naples, sent a powerful army into 
his kingdom, and stationed his troops in the important for- 
tresses. The infamous fraud was now accomplished. Frederic 
of Naples, to his dismay, found that he had been placing his 
empire in the hands of his enemies instead of friends ; at the 
same time the troops of Louis arrived at Rome, where they 



MAXIMILIAN I. 93 

were cordially received ; and the pope immediately, on the 
25th of June, 1501, issued a bull deposing Frederic from his 
kingdom, and, by virtue of that spiritual authority which 
he derived from the Apostle Peter, invested Louis and Fer- 
dinand with the dominions of Frederic. Few men are more 
to be commiserated than a crownless king. Frederic, in his 
despair, threw himself upon the clemency of Louis. He was 
taken to France and was there fed and clothed by the royal 
bounty. 

Maximilian impatiently watched the events from his home 
in Austria, and burned with the desire to take a more active 
part in these stirring scenes. Despairing, however, to rouse 
the German States to any effectual intervention in the affairs 
of southern Europe, he now endeavored to rouse the en- 
thusiasm of the German nobles against the Turks. In this, 
by appealing to superstition, he was somewhat successful. 
He addressed the following circular letter to the German 
States : 

" A stone, weighing two hundred pounds, recently fell from 
heaven, near the army under my command in Upper Alsace, 
and I caused it, as a fatal warning from God to men, to be 
hung up in the neighboring church of Encisheim. In vain I 
myself explained to all Christian kings the signification of this 
mysterious stone. The Almighty punished the neglect of this 
warning with a dreadful scourge, from which thousands have 
suffered death, or pains worse than death. But since this 
punishment of the abominable sins of men has produced no 
effect, God has imprinted in a miraculous manner the sign of 
the cross, and the instruments of our Lord's passion in dark 
and bloody colors, on the bodies and garments of thousands. 
The appearance of these signs in Germany, in particular, does 
not indeed denote that the Germans have been peculiarly dis- 
tinguished in guilt, but rather that they should set the exam- 
ple to the rest cf the world, by being the first to undertake a 
crusade against the infidels." 



94 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

For a time Maximilian seemed quite encouraged, for quite 
a wave of religious enthusiasm seemed to roll over Europe. 
All the energies of the pope were apparently enlisted, and he 
raised, through all the domains of the Church, large sums ot 
money for the holy enterprise of driving the invading infidels 
out of Europe. England and France both proffered their co- 
operation, and England, opening her inexhaustible purse, pre- 
sented a subsidy of ten thousand pounds. The German nobles 
rallied in large numbers under the banner of the cross. But 
disappointment seemed to be the doom of the emperor. The 
King of France sent no aid. The pope, iniquitously squan- 
dered all the money he had raised upon his infamous, dissolute 
son, Caesar Borgia. And the emperor himself was drawn into 
a war with Bavaria, to settle the right of succession between 
two rival claimants. The settlement of the question devolved 
upon Maximilian as emperor, and his dignity was involved in 
securing respect for his decision. Thus the whole gorgeous 
plan of a war against the Turks, such as Europe had never 
beheld, vanished into thin ah', and Maximilian was found at the 
head of fourteen thousand infantry, and twelve thousand horse, 
engaged in a quarrel in the heart of Germany. In this war 
Maximilian was successful, and he rewarded himself by annex- 
ing to Austria several small provinces, the sum total of which 
quite enlarged his small domains. 

By this time the kings of France and Spain were fiercely 
fighting over their conquest of Naples and Sicily, each striv- 
ing to grasp the lion's share. Maximilian thought his interests 
would be promoted by aiding the Spaniards, and he accord- 
ingly sent three thousand men to Trieste, where they em- 
barked, and sailing down the Adriatic, united with the Span- 
ish troops. The French were driven out of Italy. There then 
ensued, for several years, wars and intrigues in which France, 
Spain, Italy and Austria were involved ; all alike selfish and 
grasping. Armies were ever moving to and fro, and the 
people of Europe, by the victories of kings and nobles, were 



MAXIMILIAN I. 95 

kept in a condition of misery. "N"o one seemed ever to think 
of their rights or their happiness. 

Various circumstances had exasperated Maximilian very- 
much against the Venetians. All the powers of Europe were 
then ready to combine against any other power whatever, if 
there was a chance of obtaining any share in the division of 
the plunder. Maximilian found no difficulty in secretly form- 
ing one of the most formidable leagues history had then re- 
corded, the celebrated league of Cambray. No sympathy need 
be wasted upon the Venetians, the victims of this coalition, for 
they had rendered themselves universally detestable by their 
arrogance, rapacity, perfidy and pride. France joined the 
coalition, and, in view of her power, was to receive a lion's 
share of the prey — the provinces of Brescia, Bergamo, Cre- 
mona, and the Ghiradadda. The King of Arragon was to 
send ships and troops, and receive his pay in the maritime 
towns on the shores of the Adriatic. The pope, Julius II., the 
most grasping, perfidious and selfish of them all, demanded 
Ravenna, Cervia, Faenza, Rimini, Immola and Cesena. His 
exorbitant claims were assented to, as it was infinitely impor- 
tant that the piratic expedition should be sanctioned by the 
Dlessing of the Church. Maximilian was to receive, in addition 
to some territories which Venice had wrested from him, Ro- 
veredo, Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Trevigi, and the Friuli. As 
Maximilian was bound by a truce with Venice, and as in those 
days of chivalry some little regard was to be paid to one's 
word of honor, Maximilian was only to march at the summons 
of the pope, which no true son of the Church, under any cir 
cumstances, was at liberty to disobey. Sundry other minor 
dukes and princes were engaged in the plot, who were also to 
receive a proportionate share of the spoil. 

After these arrangements were all completed, the holy 
father, with characteristic infamy, made private overtures to 
the Venetians, ±evealing to them the whole plot, and offering 
to withdraw from the confederacy and thwart all its plans, if 



96 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Venice would pay more as the reward of perfidy than Rome 
could hope to acquire by force of arms. The haughty republic 
rejected the infamous proposal, and prepared for a desperate 
defense. 

All the powers of the confederacy were now collecting 
their troops. But Maximilian was dependent upon the Ger- 
man diet for his ability to fulfill his part of the contract. He 
assembled the diet at Worms on the 21st of April, 1509, pre- 
sented to them the plan of the league, and solicited their sup- 
port. The diet refused to cooperate, and hardly affecting even 
the forms of respect, couched its refusal in terms of stinging 
rebuke. 

" We are tired," they said, " of these innumerable calls 
for troops and money. We can not support the burden of 
these frequent diets, involving the expense of long journeys, 
and we are weary of expeditions and wars. If the emperor 
enters into treaties with France and the pope without consult- 
ing us, it is his concern and not ours, and we are not bound 
to aid him to fulfill his agreement. And even if we were to 
vote the succors which are now asked of us, we should only 
be involved in embarrassment and disgrace, as we have been 
by the previous enterprises of the emperor." 

Such, in brief, was the response of the diet. It drew from 
the emperor a long defense of his conduct, which he called an 
" Apology," and which is considered one of the most curious 
and characteristic documents of those days. He made no at- 
tempt to conceal his vexation, but assailed them in strong lan- 
guage of reproach. 

" I have concluded a treaty with my allies," he wrote, 
" in conformity to the dictates of conscience and duty, and 
for the honor, glory and happiness of the empire and of Chris- 
tendom. The negotiation could not be postponed, and if I 
had convoked a diet to demand the advice of the States, the 
treaty would never have been concluded. I was under the ne- 
cessity of cono waling the project of the combined powers, that 



MAXIMILIAN I. 97 

we might fall on the Venetians at once and unexpectedly, 
which could not have been effected in the midst of public de- 
liberations and endless discussions ; and I have, I trust, clearly 
proved, both in my public and my private communications, the 
advantage which is likely to result from this union. If the 
aids hitherto granted by diets have produced nothing but dis- 
grace and dishonor, I am not to blame, but the States who 
acted so scandalously hi granting their succors with so much 
reluctance and delay. As for myself, I have, on the contrary, 
exposed my treasure, my countries, my subjects and my life, 
while the generality of the German States have remained in 
dishonorable tranquillity at home. I have more reason to 
complain of you than you of me ; for you have constantly re- 
fused me your approbation and assistance ; and even when you 
have granted succors, you have rendered them fruitless by the 
scantiness and tardiness of your supplies, and compelled me to 
dissipate my own revenues, and injure my own subjects." 

Of course these bitter recriminations accomplished nothing 
in changing the action of the diet, and Maximilian was thrown 
upon the Austrian States alone for supplies. Louis of France, 
at the head of seventeen thousand troops, crossed the Alps. 
The pope fulminated a bull of excommunication against the 
Venetians, and sent an army often thousand men. The Duke 
of Ferrara and the Marquis of Mantua sent their contingents. 
Maximilian, by great exertions, sent a few battalions through 
the mountains of the Tyrol, and was preparing to follow with 
stronger forces. Province after province fell before the resist- 
less invaders, and Venice would have fallen irretrievably had 
not the conquerors began to quarrel among themselves. The 
pope, in secret treaty, was endeavoring to secure his private 
interests, regardless of the interests of the allies. Louis, from 
some pique, withdrew his forces, and abandoned Maximilian in 
the hour of peril, and the emperor, shackled by want of money, 
and having but a, feeble force, was quite unable to make prog- 
ress alone against the Venetian troops. 

5 



98 THE HOUSE OF ATTSTEIA. 

It does not seem to be the will of Providence that the plots 
of unprincipled men, even against men as bad as themselves, 
should be more than transiently prosperous. Maximilian, thus 
again utterly thwarted in one of his most magnificent plans, 
covered with disgrace, and irritated almost beyond endurance, 
after attempting in vain to negotiate a truce with the Vene- 
tians, was compelled to retreat across the Alps, inveighing 
bitterly against the perfidious refusal to fulfill a perfidious 
agreement. 

The holy father, Julius II., outwitted all his accomplices. 
He secured from Venice very valuable accessions of territory, 
and then, recalling his ecclesiastical denunciations, united with 
Venice to drive the barbarians, as he affectionately called his 
French and German allies, out of Italy. Maximilian returned 
to Austria as in a funeral march, ventured to summon another 
diet, told them how shamefully he had been treated by France, 
Venice and the pope, and again implored them to do some- 
thing to help him. Perseverance is surely the most efficient 
of virtues. Incredible as it may seem, the emperor now ob- 
tained some little success. The diet, indignant at the conduct 
of the pope, and alarmed at so formidable a union a3 that be- 
tween the papal States and Venice, voted a succor of six thou- 
sand infantry and eighteen hundred horse. This encouraged 
the emperor, and forgetting his quarrel with Louis XII. of 
France, in the stronger passion of personal aggrandizement 
which influenced him, he entered into another alliance with 
Louis against the pope and Venice, and then made a still 
stronger and a religious appeal to Germany for aid. A certain 
class of politicians in all countries and in all ages, have occa- 
sionally expressed great solicitude for the reputation of religion. 

" The power and government of the pope," the emperor 
proclaimed, " which ought to be an example to the faithful, 
present, on the contrary, nothing but trouble and disorder. 
The enormous sums daily extorted from Germany, are per- 
verted to the purposes of luxury or worldly views, instead of 



MAXIMILIAN I. 97 

being employed for the service of God, or against the infidels. 
As Emperor of Germany, as advocate and protector of the 
Christian Church, it is my duty to examine into such irregu- 
larities, and exert all my efforts for the glory of God and the 
advantage of the empire ; and as there is an evident necessity 
to reestablish due order and decency, both in the ecclesiasti- 
cal and temporal state, I have resolved to call a general coun- 
cil, without which nothing permanent can be effected. ,, 

It is said that Maximilian was now so confident of success, 
that he had decided to divide Italy between himself and 
France. He was to take Venice and the States of the Church, 
and France was to have the rest. Pope Julius was to be de- 
posed, and to be succeeded by Pope Maximilian. The fol- 
lowing letter from Maximilian to his daughter, reveals his 
ambitious views at the time. It is dated the 18th of Sep- 
tember, 1511. 

" To-morrow I shall send the Bishop of Guzk to the pope at 
Rome, to conclude an agreement with him that I may be ap- 
pointed his coadjutor, and on his death succeed to the papacy, 
and become a priest, and afterwards a saint, that you may be 
bound to worship me, of which I shall be very proud. I have 
written on this subject to the King of Arragon, intreating 
him to favor my undertaking, and he has promised me his 
assistance, provided I resign my imperial crown to my grand- 
son Charles, which I am very ready to do. The people and 
nobles of Rome have offered to support me against the 
French and Spanish party. They can muster twenty thou- 
sand combatants, and have sent me word that they are in- 
clined to favor my scheme of being pope, and will not consent 
to have either a Frenchman, a Spaniard or a Venetian. 

" I have already began to sound the cardinals, and, for 
that purpose, two or three hundred thousand ducats would be 
of great service to me, as their partiality to me is very great. 
The King of Arragon has ordered his ambassadors to assure 
me that he will command the Spanish cardinals to favor my 



100 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

pretensions to the papacy. I intreat you to keep this matter 
secret for the present, though I am afraid it will soon be 
known, for it is impossible to carry on a business secretly for 
which it is necessary to gain over so many persons, and to 
have so much money. Adieu. "Written with the hand of 
your dear father Maximilian, future pope. The pope's fever 
has increased, and he can not live long." 

It is painful to follow out the windings of intrigue and the 
labyrinths of guile, where selfishness seemed to actuate every 
heart, and where all alike seem destitute of any principle of 
Christian integrity. Bad as the world is now, and selfish as 
political aspirants are now, humanity has made immense prog- 
ress since that dark age of superstition, fraud and violence. 
After many victories and many defeats, after innumerable 
fluctuations of guile, Maximilian accepted a bribe, and with- 
drew his forces, and the King of France was summoned home 
by the invasion of his own territories by the King of Arragon 
and Henry VIII. of England, who, for a suitable considera- 
tion, had been induced to join Venice and the pope. At the 
end of this long campaign of diplomacy, perfidy and blood, 
in which misery had rioted through ten thousand cottages, 
whose inhabitants the warriors regarded no more than the 
occupants of the ant-hills they trampled beneath their feet, 
it was found that no one had gained any thing but toil and 
disappointment. 

On the 21st of February, 1513, Pope Julius II. died, and 
the cardinals, rejecting all the overtures of the emperor, 
elected John of Medici pope, who assumed the name of Leo 
X. The new pontiff was but thirty-six years of age, a man 
of brilliant talents, and devoted to the pursuit of letters. In- 
spired by boundless ambition, he wished to signalize his reign 
by the magnificence of his court and the grandeur of his 
achievements. 

Thus far nothing but disaster seemed to attend the enter- 
prises of Maximilian ; but now the tide suddenly turned and 



MAXIMILIAN I. 101 

rolled in upon him billows of prosperity. It will be remem- 
bered that Maximilian married, for his first wife, Mary, the 
daughter of the Duke of Burgundy. Their son Philip mar- 
ried Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, whose mar- 
riage, uniting the kingdoms of Castile and Arragon, created 
the splendid kingdom of Spain. Philip died young, leaving a 
son, Charles, and Joanna, an insane wife, to watch his grave 
through weary years of woe. Upon the death of Ferdinand, 
in January, 1516, Charles, the grandson of Maximilian, became 
undisputed heir to the whole monarchy of Spain ; then, per- 
haps, the grandest power in Europe, including Naples, Sicily 
and Navarre. This magnificent inheritance, coming so di- 
rectly into the family, and into the line of succession, invested 
Maximilian and the house of Austria with new dignity. 

It was now an object of intense solicitude with Maximilian, 
to secure the reversion of the crowns of Hungary and Bo- 
hemia, which were both upon the brow of Ladislaus, to his 
own family. With this object in view, and to render assur- 
ance doubly sure, he succeeded in negotiating a marriage 
between two children of Ladislaus, a son and a daughter, and 
two of his own grand-children. This was a far pleasanter 
mode of acquiring territory and family aggrandizement than 
by the sword. In celebration of the betrothals, Ladislaus and 
his brother Sigismond, King of Poland, visited Vienna, where 
Ladislaus was so delighted with the magnificent hospitality 
of his reception, that he even urged upon the emperor, who 
was then a widower, fifty-eight years of age, that he should 
marry another of his daughters, though she had but attained 
her thirteenth year. The emperor declined the honor, jocu- 
larly remarking — 

"There is no method more pleasant to kill an old man, 
than to marry him to a young bride." 

The German empire was then divided into ten districts, or 
circles, as they were then called, each of which was responsi- 
ble for the maintenance of peace among its own members* 



102 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

These districts were, Austria, Burgundy, the Upper Rhine, 
the Lower Rhine, Franconia, Bavaria, Suabia, Westphalia, 
Upper Saxony and Lower Saxony. The affairs of each dis- 
trict were to be regulated by a court of a few nobles, called a 
diet. The emperor devoted especial attention to the im- 
provement of his own estate of Austria, which he subdivided 
into two districts, and these into still smaller districts. Over 
all, for the settlement of all important points of dispute, he es- 
tablished a tribunal called the Aulic Council, which subsequent- 
ly exerted a powerful influence over the affairs of Austria. 

One more final effort Maximilian made to rouse Germany 
to combine to drive the Turks out of Europe. Though the 
benighted masses looked up with much reverence to the pon- 
tiff, the princes and the nobles regarded him only as a power, 
wielding, in addition to the military arm, the potent energies 
of superstition. A diet was convened. The pope's legate 
appeared, and sustained the eloquent appeal of the emperor 
with the paternal commands of the holy father. But the press 
was now becoming a power in Europe, diffusing intelligence 
and giving freedom to thought and expression. The diet, 
after listening patiently to the arguments of the emperor and 
the requests of the pontiff, dryly replied — 

"We think that Christianity has more to fear from the 
pope than from the Turks. Much as we may dread the rav- 
ages of the infidel, they can hardly drain Christendom more 
effectually than it is now drained by the exactions of the 
Church." 

It was at Augsburg in July, 1518, that the diet ventured 
thus boldly to speak. This was one year after Luther had 
nailed upon the church door in Wittemberg, his ninety-five 
propositions, which had roused all Germany to scrutinize the 
abominable corruptions of the papal church. This bold lan- 
guage of the diet, influenced by the still bolder language of 
the intrepid monk, alarmed Leo X., and on the 7th of August 
he issued his summons commanding Luther to repair to Rome 



MAXIMILIAN I. 103 

to answer lor heresy. Maximilian, who had betn foiled in his 
own attempt to attain the chair of St. Peter, who had seen so 
much of the infamous career of Julius and Alexander, as to 
lose all his reverence for the sacred character of the popes, and 
who regarded Leo X. merely as a successful rival who had 
thwarted his own plans, espoused, with cautious development, 
but with true interest, the cause of the reformer. And now 
came the great war of the Reformation, agitating Germany in 
every quarter, and rousing the lethargic intellect of the na- 
tions as nothing else could rouse it. Maximilian, with charac- 
teristic fickleness, or rather, with characteristic pliancy before 
every breeze of self-interest, was now on the one side, now on 
the other, and now, nobody knew where, until his career was 
terminated by sudden and fatal sickness. 

The emperor was at Innspruck, all overwhelmed with his 
cares and his plans of ambition, when he was seized with a 
slight fever. Hoping to be benefited by a change of air, he 
set out to travel by slow stages to one of his castles among the 
mountains of Upper Austria. The disease, however, rapidly 
increased, and it was soon evident that death was approach- 
ing. The peculiarities of his character were never more strik- 
ingly developed than in these last solemn hours. Being told 
by his physicians that he had not long to live and that he must 
now prepare for the final judgment, he calmly replied, "I have 
long ago made that preparation. Had I not done so, it would 
be too late now." 

For four years he had been conscious of declining health, 
and had always carried with him, wherever he traveled, an 
oaken coffin, with his shroud and other requisites for his fu- 
neral. With very minute directions he settled all his world- 
ly affairs, and gave the most particular instructions respecting 
his funeral. Changing his linen, he strictly enjoined that his 
shirt should not be removed after his death, for his fastidious 
modesty was shocked by the idea of the exposure of his body, 
even after the soul had taken its flight. 



104 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

He ordered his hair, after his death, to be cut off, all his 
teeth to be extracted, pounded to powder and publicly burned 
in the chapel of his palace. For one day his remains were to 
be exposed to the public, as a lesson of mortality. They were 
then to be placed in a sack filled with quicklime. The sack 
was to be enveloped in folds of silk and satin, and then placed 
in the oaken coffin which had been so long awaiting his re- 
mains. The coffin was then to be deposited under the altar of 
the chapel of his palace at Neustadt, in such a position that 
the officiating priest should ever trample over his head and 
heart. The king expressed the hope that this humiliation of 
his body would, in some degree, be accepted by the Deity in 
atonement for the sins of his soul. How universal the instinct 
that sin needs an atonement ! 

Having finished these directions the emperor observed that 
some of his attendants were in tears. " Do you weep," said 
he, " because you see a mortal die ? Such tears become women 
rather than men." The emperor was now dying. As the 
ecclesiastics repeated the prayers of the Church, the emperor 
gave the responses until his voice failed, and then continued to 
give tokens of recognition and of faith, by making the sign of 
the cross. At three o'clock in the morning of the 11th of Jan- 
uary, 1519, the Emperor Maximilian breathed his last. He 
was then in the sixtieth year of his age. 

Maximilian is justly considered one of the most renowned 
of the descendants of Rhodolph of Hapsburg. It is saying 
but little for his moral integrity, to affirm that he was one of 
the best of the rulers of his age. According to his ideas of 
religion, he was a religious man. According to his ideas of 
honesty and of honor, he was both an honest and an honora- 
ble man. According to his idea of what is called trior al con- 
duct, he was irreproachable, being addicted to no ungenteel 
vices, or any sins which would be condemned by his associates. 
His ambition was not to secure for himself ease or luxury, but 
to extend his imperial power, and to aggrandize his family. 



MAXIMILIAN I. W5 

For these objects he passed his life, ever tossed upon the bil- 
lows of toil and trouble. In industry and perseverance, he 
has rarely been surpassed. 

Notwithstanding the innumerable interruptions and cares 
attendant upon his station, he still found time, one can hardly 
imagine when, to become a proficient in all the learning of the 
day. He wrote and spoke four languages readily, Latin, 
French, German and Italian. Few men have possessed more 
persuasive powers of eloquence. All the arts and sciences he 
warmly patronized, and men of letters of every class found 
in him a protector. But history must truthfully declare that 
there was no perfidy of which he would not be guilty, and no 
meanness to which he would not stoop, if he could only extend 
his hereditary domains and add to his family renown. 

5* 



CHAPTER VII. 

CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 
Erom 1519 to 1531. 

Chables V. of Spain. — His Election as Emperor op Germany. — His Coronation.— 
The first Constitution. — Progress of the Eeformation. — The Pope's Bull 
against Luther. — His Contempt for his Holiness.— The Diet at "Worms. — 
Frederic's Objection to the Condemnation of Luther by the Diet. — He ob- 
tains for Luther the Eight of Defense. — Luther's triumphal March to the 
Tribunal. — Charles urged to violate his Safe Conduct. — Luther's Patmos.— 
Marriage of Sister Catharine Bora to Luther.— Terrible Insurrection.— The 
Holy League. — The Protest of Spires. — Confession of Augsburg. — The two 
Confessions.— Compulsory Measures. 

CHARLES V. of Spain, as the nearest male heir, inherited 
from Maximilian the Austrian States. He was the grand- 
son of the late emperor, son of Philip and of Joanna, daughter 
of Ferdinand and Isabella, and was born on the 24th of Feb- 
ruary, 1500. He had been carefully educated in the learning 
and accomplishments of the age, and particularly in the arts 
of war. At the death of his grandfather, Ferdinand, Charles, 
though but sixteen years of age, assumed the title of King of 
Spain, and though strongly opposed for a time, he grasped 
firmly and held securely the reins of government. 

Joanna, his mother, was legally the sovereign, both by the 
laws of united Castile and Arragon, and by the testaments of 
Isabella and Ferdinand. But she was insane, and was sunk in 
such depths of melancholy as to be almost unconscious of the 
scenes which were transpiring around her. Two years had 
elapsed between the accession of Charles V. to the throne of 
Spain and the death of his grandfather, Maximilian. The 
young king, with wonderful energy of character, had, during 



CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 107 

that time, established himself very firmly on the throne. Upon 
the death of Maximilian many claimants rose for the imperial 
throne. Henry VIII. of England and Francis of France, were 
prominent among the competitors. For six months all the 
arts of diplomacy were exhausted by the various candidates, 
and Charles of Spain won the prize. On the 28th of June, 
1519, he was unanimously elected Emperor of Germany. The 
youthful sovereign, who was but nineteen years of age, was 
at Barcelona when he received the first intelligence of his elec- 
tion. He had sufficient strength of character to avoid the 
slightest apjoearance of exultation, but received the announce- 
ment with dignity and gravity far above his years. 

The Spaniards were exceedingly excited and alarmed by 
the news. They feared that their young sovereign, of whom 
they had already begun to be proud, would leave Spain to es- 
tablish his court in the German empire, and they should thus 
be left, as a distant pr©vince, to the government of a viceroy. 
The king was consequently flooded with petitions, from all 
parts of his dominions, not to accept the imperial crown. But 
Charles was as ambitious as his grandfather, Maximilian, whose 
foresight and maneuvering had set in train those influences 
which had elevated him to the imperial dignity. 

Soon a solemn embassy arrived, and, with the customary 
pomp, proffered to Charles the crown which so many had cov- 
eted. Charles accepted the oflice, and made immediate prepa- 
rations, notwithstanding the increasing clamor of his subjects, 
to go to Germany for his coronation. Intrusting the govern- 
ment of Spain during his absence to officers in whom he re- 
posed confidence, he embarked on shipboard, and landing 
first at Dover in England, made a visit of four days to 
Henry VIII. He then continued his voyage to the Nether- 
lands ; proceeding thence to Aix-la-Chapelle, he was crowned 
on the 20th of October, 1520, with magnificence far surpassing 
that of any of his predecessors. Thus Charles V., when but 
twenty years of age, was the King of Spain and the crowned 



108 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Emperor of Germany. It is a great mistake to suppose that 
youthful precocity is one of the innovations of modern times. 

In the changes of the political kaleidoscope, Austria had 
now become a part of Spain, or rather a prince of Austrian 
descent, a lineal heir of the house of Hapsburg, had inherited 
the dominion of Spain, the most extensive monarchy, in its 
continental domains and its colonial possessions, then upon the 
globe. The Germanic confederation at this time made a de- 
cided step in advance. Hitherto the emperors, when crowned, 
had made a sort of verbal promise to administer the govern- 
ment in accordance with the laws and customs of the several 
states. They were, however, apprehensive that the new em- 
peror, availing himself of the vast power which he possessed 
independently of the imperial crown, might, by gradual en- 
croachments, defraud them of their rights. A sort of consti- 
tution was accordingly drawn up, consisting of thirty-six arti- 
cles, defining quite minutely the laws, customs and privileges 
of the empire, which constitution Charles was required to 
sign before his coronation. 

Charles presided in person over his first diet which he had 
convened at Worms on the 6th of January, 1521. The theo- 
logical and political war of the Reformation was now agitat- 
ing all Germany, and raging with the utmost violence. Luther 
had torn the vail from the corruptions of papacy, and was ex- 
hibiting to astonished Europe the enormous aggression and 
the unbridled licentiousness of pontifical power. Letter suc- 
ceeded letter, and pamphlet pamphlet, and they fell upon the 
decaying hierarchy like shot and shell upon the walls of a for- 
tress already crumbling and tottering through age. 

On the 15th of July, 1520, three months before the coro- 
nation of Charles V., the pope issued his world-renowned bull 
against the intrepid monk. He condemned Luther as a heretic, 
forbade the reading of his writings, excommunicated him if he 
did not retract within sixty days, and all princes and states 
were commanded, under pain of incurring the same censure, 



CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 109 

to seize his person and punish him and his adherents. Many 
were overawed by these menaces of the holy father, who 
held the keys of heaven and of hell. The fate of Luther was 
considered sealed. His works were publicly burned in several 
cities. 

Luther, undaunted, replied with blow for blow. He de- 
clared the pope to be antichrist, renounced all obedience to 
him, detailed with scathing severity the conduct of corrupt 
pontiffs, and called upon the whole nation to renounce all alle- 
giance to the scandalous court of Rome. To cap the climax 
of his contempt and defiance, he, on the 10th of December, 
1520, not two months after the crowning of Charles V., led 
his admiring followers, the professors and students of the uni- 
versity of Wittemberg, in procession to the eastern gate of 
the city, where, in the presence of a vast concourse, he com- 
mitted the papal bull to the flames, exclaiming, in the words 
of Ezekiel, " Because thou hast troubled the Holy One of God, 
let eternal fire consume thee." This dauntless spirit of the re- 
former inspired his disciples throughout Germany with new 
courage, and in many other cities the pope's bull of excommu- 
nication was burned with expressions of indignation and con- 
tempt. 

Such w T as the state of this great religious controversy when 
Charles V. held his first diet at Worms. The pope, wielding 
all the energies of religious fanaticism, and with immense tem- 
poral revenues at his disposal, with ecclesiastics, officers of his 
spiritual court, scattered all over Europe, who exercised almost 
a supernatural power over the minds of the benighted masses, 
was still perhaps the most formidable power in Europe. The 
new emperor, with immense schemes of ambition opening be- 
fore his youthful and ardent mind, and with no principles of 
heartfelt piety to incline him to seek and love the truth, as a 
matter of course sought the favor of the imperial pontiff, and 
was not at all disposed to espouse the cause of the obscure 
monk. 



110 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Charles, therefore, received courteously the legates of the 
pontiff at the diet, gave them a friendly hearing as they in- 
veighed against the heresy of Luther, and proposed that the 
diet should also condemn the reformer. Fortunately for Lu- 
ther he was a subject of the electorate of Saxony, and neither 
pope nor emperor could touch him but through the elector. 
Frederic, the Duke of Saxony, one of the electors of the em- 
pire, governed a territory of nearly fifteen thousand square 
miles, more than twice as large as the State of Massachusetts, 
and containing nearly three millions of inhabitants. The duchy 
has since passed through many changes and dismemberments, 
but in the early part of the sixteenth century the Elector of 
Saxony was one of the most powerful princes of the German 
empire. Frederic was not disposed to surrender his subject un- 
tried and uncondemned to the discipline of the Roman pontiff. 
He accordingly objected to this summary condemnation of 
Luther, and declared that before judgment was pronounced, 
the accused should be heard in his own defense. Charles, who 
was by no means aware how extensively the opinions of Luther 
had been circulated and received, was surprised to find many 
nobles, each emboldened by the rest, rise in the diet and de- 
nounce, in terms of ever-increasing severity, the exactions and 
the arrogance of the court of Rome. 

Notwithstanding the remonstrances of the pope's legates, 
the emperor found it necessary to yield to the demands of the 
diet, and to allow Luther the privilege of being heard, though 
he avowed to the friends of the pope that Luther should not 
be permitted to make any defense, but should only have an 
opportunity to confess his heresy and implore forgiveness. 
Worms, where the diet was in session, on the west banks of the 
Rhine, was not within the territories of the Elector of Saxony, 
and consequently the emperor, in sending a summons to Lu- 
ther to present himself before the diet, sent, also, a safe conduct. 
With alacrity the bold reformer obeyed the summons. From 
Wittemberg, where Luther was both professor in the univer 



CHAELES V. AND THE REFORMATION. Ill 

sity and also pastor of a church, to Worms, was a distance of 
nearly three hundred miles. But the journey of the reformer 
through all of this long road was almost like a triumphal proces- 
sion. Crowds gathered everywhere to behold the man who 
had dared to bid defiance to the terrors of that spiritual pow- 
er before which the haughtiest monarchs had trembled. The 
people had read the writings of Luther, and justly regarded 
him as the advocate of civil and religious liberty. The nobles, 
who had often been humiliated by the arrogance of the pon- 
tiff, admired a man who was bringing a new power into the 
field for their disenthrallment. 

When Luther had arrived within three miles of Worms, 
accompanied by a few friends and the imperial herald who had 
summoned him, he was met by a procession of two thousand 
persons, who had come from the city to form his escort. Some 
friends in the city sent him a warning that he could not rely 
upon the protection of his safe conduct, that he would proba- 
bly be perfidiously arrested, and they intreated him to retire im- 
mediately again to Saxony. Luther made the memorable reply, 
"I will go to Worms, if as many devils meet me there as 
there are tiles upon the roofs of the houses." 

The emperor was astonished to find that greater crowds 
were assembled, and greater enthusiasm was displayed in wit- 
nessing the entrance of the monk of Wittemberg, than had 
greeted the imperial entrance to the city. 

It was indeed an august assemblage before which Luther 
was arrayed. The emperor himself presided, sustained by his 
brother, the Archduke Ferdinand. Six electors, twenty-four 
dukes, seven margraves, thirty bishops and prelates, and an 
uncounted number of princes, counts, lords and ambassadors 
filled the spacious hall. It was the 18th of April, 1521. His 
speech, fearless, dignified, eloquent, unanswerable, occupied 
two hours. He closed with the noble words, 

"Let me be refuted and convinced by the testimony of the 
Scriptures or by the clearest arguments ; otherwise I can not 



112 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

and will not recant ; for it is neither safe nor expedient to act 
against conscience. Here I take my stand. I can do no other- 
wise, so help me God, Amen." 

In this sublime moral conflict Luther came off the undis- 
puted conqueror. The legates of the pope, exasperated at his 
triumph, intreated the emperor to arrest him, in defiance of 
his word of honor pledged for his safety. Charles rejected 
the infamous proposal with disdain. Still he was greatly an- 
noyed at so serious a schism in the Church, which threatened 
to alienate from him the patronage of the pope. It was evi- 
dent that Luther was too strongly intrenched in the hearts ot 
the Germans, for the youthful emperor, whose crown was not 
yet warm upon his brow, and who was almost a stranger in 
Germany, to undertake to crush him. To appease the pope he 
drew up an apologetic declaration, in which he said, in terms 
which do not honor his memory, 

" Descended as I am from the Christian emperors of Ger- 
many, the Catholic kings of Spain, and from the archdukes of 
Austria and the Dukes of Burgundy, all of whom have pre- 
served, to the last moment of their lives, their fidelity to the 
Church, and have always been the defenders and protectors of 
the Catholic faith, its decrees, ceremonies and usages, I have 
been, am still, and will ever be devoted to those Christian doc- 
trines, and the constitution of the Church which they have left 
to me as a sacred inheritance. And as it is evident that a 
simple monk has advanced opinions contrary to the sentiments 
of all Christians, past and present, I am firmly determined 
to wipe away the reproach which a toleration of such errors 
would cast on Germany, and to employ all my powers and 
resources, my body, my blood, my life, and even my soul, in 
checking the progress of this sacrilegious doctrine. I will not, 
therefore, permit Luther to enter into any further explanation, 
and will instantly dismiss and afterward treat him as a heretic. 
But I can not violate my safe conduct, but will cause him to 
be conducted safely back to Wittemberg." 



CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 113 

The emperor now attempted to accomplish by intrigue 
that which he could not attain by authority of force. He held 
a private interview with the reformer, and endeavored, by all 
those arts at the disposal of an emperor, to influence Luthe^ 
to a recantation. Failing utterly in this, he delayed further 
operations for a month, until many of the diet, including the 
Elector of Saxony and other powerful friends of Luther, had 
retired. He then, having carefully retained those who would 
be obsequious to his will, caused a decree to be enacted, as ii 
it were the unanimous sentiment of the diet, that Luther was 
a heretic ; confirmed the sentence of the pope, and pronounced 
the ban of the empire against all who should countenance or 
protect him. 

But Luther, on the 26th of May, had left Worms on his 
return to Wittemberg. When he had passed over about half 
the distance, his friend and admirer, Frederic of Saxony, con- 
scious of the imminent peril which hung over the intrepid 
monk, sent a troop of masked horsemen who seized him and 
conveyed him to the castle of Wartburg, where Frederic kept 
him safely concealed for nine months, not allowing even his 
friends to know the place of his concealment. Luther, acqui- 
escing in the prudence of this measure, called this retreat his 
Patmos, and devoted himself most assiduously to the study of 
the Scriptures, and commenced his most admirable translation 
of the Bible into the German language, a work which has con- 
tributed vastly more than all others to disseminate the princi- 
ples of the Reformation throughout Germany. 

It will be remembered that Maximilian's son Ferdinand, 
who was brother to Charles V., had married Anne, daughter 
of Ladislaus, King of Hungary and Bohemia. Disturbances 
ai Spain rendered it necessary for the emperor to leave Ger- 
many, and for eight years his attention was almost constantly 
occupied by wars and intrigues in southern Europe. Ferdi- 
nand was invested with the government of the Austrian States. 
In the year 1521, Leo X. died, and Adrian, who seems to have 



114 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

been truly a conscientious Christian man, assumed the tiara. 
He saw the deep corruptions of the Church, confessed them 
openly, mourned over them and declared that the Church 
needed a thorough reformation. 

This admission, of course, wonderfully strengthened the 
Lutheran party. The diet, meeting soon after, drew up a list 
of a hundred grievances, which they intreated the pope to re- 
form, declaring that Germany could no longer endure them. 
They declared that Luther had opened the eyes of the people 
to these corruptions, and that they woul^ not suffer the edicts 
of the diet of Worms to be enforced. Ferdinand of Austria, 
entering into the views of his brother, was anxious to arrest 
the progress of the new ideas, now spreading with great ra- 
pidity, and he entered — instructed by a legate, Campegio, from 
the pope — into an engagement with the Duke of Bavaria, and 
most of the German bishops, to carry the edict of Worms into 
effect. 

Frederic, the Elector of Saxony, died in 1525, but he was 
succeeded by his brother John the Constant, who cordially 
embraced and publicly avowed the doctrines of the Reforma- 
tion ; and Luther, in July of this year, gave the last signal 
proof of his entire emancipation from the superstitions of the 
papacy by marrying Catharine Bora, a noble lady who, having 
espoused his views, had left the nunnery where she had been 
an inmate. It is impossible for one now to conceive the im- 
pression which was produced in Catholic Europe by the mar- 
riage of a priest and a nun. 

Many of the German princes now followed the example 
of John of Saxony, and openly avowed their faith in the Lu 
theran doctrines. In the Austrian States, notwithstanding 
all Ferdinand's efforts to the contrary, the new faith steadily 
spread, commanding the assent of the most virtuous and the 
most intelligent. Many of the nobles avowed themselves 
Lutherans, as did even some of the professors in the university 
at Vienna. The vital questions at issue, taking hold, as tbey 



CHAELES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 115 

did, of the deepest emotions of the soul and the daily habits 
of life, roused the general mind to the -most intense activity. 
The bitterest hostility sprung up between the two parties, 
and many persons, without piety and without judgment, 
threw off the superstitions of the papacy, only to adopt other 
superstitions equally revolting. The sect of Anabaptists rose, 
abjuring all civil as well as all religious authority, claiming to 
be the elect of God, advocating a community of goods and 
of wives, and discarding all restraint. They roused the ig- 
norant peasantry, and easily showed them that they were 
suffering as much injustice from feudal lords as from papal 
bishops. It was the breaking out of the French Revolution 
on a small scale. Germany was desolated by infuriate bands, 
demolishing alike the castles of the nobles and the palaces of 
the bishops, and sparing neither age nor sex in their indis- 
criminate slaughter. 

The insurrection was so terrible, that both Lutherans and 
papists united to quell it ; and so fierce were these fanatics, 
that a hundred thousand perished on fields of blood before 
the rebellion was quelled. These outrages were, of course, by 
the Catholics regarded as the legitimate results of the new 
doctrines, and it surely can not be denied that they sprung from 
them. The fire which glow T s on the hearth may consume the 
dwelling. But Luther and his friends assailed the Anabap- 
tists with every weapon they could w r ield. The Catholics 
formed powerful combinations to arrest the spread of evan- 
gelical views. The reformers organized combinations equally 
powerful to diffuse those opinions, which they were sure in- 
volved the welfare of the world. 

Charles V., having somewhat allayed the troubles which 
narassed him in southern Europe, now turned his attention 
to Germany, and resolved, with a strong hand, to suppress the 
religious agitation. In a letter to the German States he very 
peremptorily announced his determination, declaring that he 
would exterminate the errors of Luther, exhorting them to 



116 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

resist all attacks against the ancient usages of the Church, and 
expressing to each of the Catholic princes his earnest approval 
of their conduct. 

Germany was now threatened with civil war. The Cath- 
olics demanded the enforcement of the edict of Worms. 
The reformers demanded perfect toleration — that every man 
should enjoy freedom of opinion and of worship. A new war 
in Italy perhaps prevented this appeal to arms, as Charles V. 
found himself involved in new difficulties which engrossed all 
his energies. Ferdinand found the Austrian States so divided 
by this controversy, that it became necessary for him to as- 
sume some degree of impartiality, and to submit to some- 
thing like toleration. A new pope, Clement VII., succeeded 
the short reign of Adrian, and all the ambition, intrigue and 
corruption which had hitherto marked the course of the court 
of Rome, resumed their sway. The pope formed the cele- 
brated Holy League to arrest the progress of the new opin- 
ions ; and this led all the princes of the empire, who had es- 
poused the Lutheran doctrines, more openly and cordially to 
combine in self-defense. In every country in Europe the doc- 
trines of the reformer spread rapidly, and the papal throne 
was shaken to its base. 

Charles V., whose arms were successful in southern Eu- 
rope, and whose power was daily increasing, was still very 
desirous of restoring quiet to Europe by reestablishing the 
supremacy of the papal Church, and crushing out dissent. 
He accordingly convened another diet at Spires, the capital 
of Rhenish Bavaria, on the 15th of March, 1529. As the em- 
peror was detained in Italy, his brother Ferdinand presided. 
The diet was of course divided, but the majority passed very 
stringent resolutions against the Reformation. It was enacted 
that the edict of Worms should be enforced ; that the mass 
should be reestablished wherever it had been abolished ; and 
that preachers should promulgate no new doctrines. The mi- 
nority entered their protest. They urged that the mass had 



CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION". 117 

been clearly proved to be contrary to the Word of God ; that 
the Scriptures were the only certain rule of life ; and declared 
their resolution to maintain the truths of the Old and New 
Testaments, regardless of traditions. This Protest was sus- 
tained by powerful names — John, Elector of Saxony ; George, 
Margrave of Brandenburg ; two Dukes of Brunswick ; the 
Landgrave of Hesse Cassel; the Prince of Anhalt, and fourteen 
imperial cities, to which were soon added ten more. Nothing 
can more decisively show than this the wonderful progress 
which the Reformation in so short a time had made. From 
this Protest the reformers received the name of Protestants, 
which they have since retained. 

The emperor, flushed with success, now resolved, with new 
energy, to assail the principles of the Reformation. Leaving 
Spain he went to Italy, and met the pope, Clement VII., at 
Bologna, in February, 1530. The pope and the emperor held 
many long and private interviews. What they said no one 
knows. But Charles V., who was eminently a sagacious man, 
became convinced that the difficulty had become far too se- 
rious to be easily healed, that men of such power had embraced 
the Lutheran doctrines that it was expedient to change the 
tone of menace into one of respect and conciliation. He ac- 
cordingly issued a call for another diet to meet in April, 1530, 
at the city of Augsburg in Bavaria. 

" I have convened," he wrote, " this assembly to consider 
the difference of opinion on the subject of religion. It is my 
intention to hear both parties with candor and charity, to ex- 
amine their respective arguments, to correct and reform what 
requires to be corrected and reformed, that the truth being 
known, and harmony established, there may, in future, be only 
one pure and simple faith, and, as all are disciples of the same 
Jesus, all may form one and the same Church." 

These fair words, however, only excited the suspicions of 
the Protestants, which suspicions subsequent events proved to 
be well founded. The emperor entered Augsburg in great 



118 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

state, and immediately assumed a dictatorial air, requiring the 
diet to attend high mass with him, and to take part in the 
procession of the host. 

" I will rather," said the Marquis of Brandenburg to the 
emperor, " instantly offer my head to the executioner, than 
renounce the gospel and approve idolatry, Christ did not 
institute the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to be carried in 
pomp through the streets, nor to be adored by the people. 
He said, ' Take, eat ; ' but never said, 'Put this sacrament 
into a vase, carry it publicly in triumph, and let the people 
prostrate themselves before it.' " 

The Protestants, availing themselves of the emperor's dec- 
laration that it was his intention to hear the sentiments of 
all, drew up a confession of their faith, which they presented 
to the emperor in German and in Latin. This celebrated 
creed is known in history as the Confession of Augsburg. 
The emperor was quite embarrassed by this document, as he 
was well aware of the argumentative powers of the reformers, 
and feared that the document, attaining celebrity, and being 
read eagerly all over the empire, would only multiply converts 
to their views. At first he refused to allow it to be read. 
But finding that this only created commotion which would 
add celebrity to the confession, he adjourned the diet to a 
small chapel where but two hundred could be convened. 
When the Chancellor of Saxony rose to read the confession, 
the emperor commanded that he should read the Latin copy, 
a language which but few of the Germans understood. 

" Sire," said the chancellor, " we are now on German 
ground. I trust that your majesty will not order the apology 
of our faith, which ought to be made as public as possible, to 
be read in a language not understood by the Germans." 

The emperor was compelled to yield to so reasonable a 
request. The adjacent apartments, and the court-yard of the 
palace, were all filled with an eager crowd. The chancellor 
read the creed in a voice so clear and loud that the whole 



CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 119 

multitude could hear. The emperor was very uneasy, and at 
the close of the reading, which occupied two hours, took both 
the Latin and the German copies, and requested that the. con- 
fession should not be published without his consent. Luther 
and Melancthon drew up this celebrated document. Melanc- 
thon was an exceedingly mild and amiable man, and such a 
lover of peace that he would perhaps do a little violence to 
his own conscience in the attempt to conciliate those from 
whom he was constrained to differ. Luther, on the contrary, 
was a man of great force, decision and fearlessness, who would 
speak the truth in the plainest terms, without softening a 
phrase to conciliate either friend or foe. The Confession of 
Augsburg being the joint production of both Melancthon and 
Luther, did not exactly suit either. It was a little too un- 
compromising for Melancthon, a little too pliant and yielding 
for Luther. Melancthon soon after took the confession and 
changed it to bring it into more entire accordance with his 
spirit. Hence a division which, in oblivion of its origin, has 
continued to the present day. Those who adhered to the 
original document which was presented to the emperor, were 
called Lutherans ; those who adopted the confession as soft- 
ened by Melancthon, were called German Reformed. 

The emperor now threw off the mask, and carrying with 
him the majority of the diet, issued a decree of intolerance 
and menace, in which he declared that all the ceremonies, 
doctrines and usages of the papal church, without exception, 
were to be reestablished, married priests deposed, suppressed 
convents restored, and every innovation, of whatever kind, to 
be revoked. All who opposed this decree were to be exposed 
to the ban of the empire, with all its pains and penalties. 

This was indeed an appalling measure. Recantation or war 
was the only alternative. Charles, being still much occupied 
by the affairs of his vast kingdom of Spain, with all its am- 
bitions and wars, needed a coadjutor in the government of 
Germany, as serious trouble was evidently near at hand. He 



120 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

therefore proposed the election of his brother Ferdinand as 
coadjutor with him in administering the affairs of Germany. 
Ferdinand, who had recently united to the Austrian territories 
the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia, was consequently chosen, 
on the 5th of January, 1531, King of the Romans. Charles 
was determined to enforce his decrees, and both parties now 
prepared for war. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 
From 1531 to 1552. 

Determination to crush Protestantism.— Incursion of the Turks. — Yalor of tub 
Protestants. — Preparations for renewed Hostilities. — Augmentation of the 
Protestant Forces. — The Council of Trent. — Mutual Consternation. — Defeat 
of the Protestant Armt. — TJnlooked for Succor. — Eevolt in the Emperor's 
Army. — The Fluctuations of Fortune. — Ignoble Revenge. — Capture of Wit- 
temberg. — protestantism apparently crushed. — plot against charles. — maur- 
ICE of Saxony. — A Change of Scene.— The Biter bit. — The Emperor humbled. — 
His Flight. — His determined Will. 

rpHE intolerant decrees of the diet of Augsburg, and the 
-*- evident determination of the emperor unrelentingly to 
enforce them, spread the greatest alarm among the Protest- 
ants. They immediately assembled at Smalkalde in Decem- 
ber, 1530, and entered into a league for mutual protection. 
The emperor was resolved to crush the Protestants. The 
Protestants were resolved not to be crushed. The sword of 
the Catholics was drawn for the assault — the sword of the 
reformers for defense. Civil war was just bursting forth in 
all its horrors, when the Turks, with an army three hundred 
thousand strong, like ravening wolves rushed into Hungary. 
This danger was appalling. The Turks in their bloody march 
had, as yet, encountered no effectual resistance ; though they 
had experienced temporary checks, their progress had been on 
the whole resistless, and wherever they had planted their feet 
they had established themselves firmly. Originating as a 
small tribe on the shores of the Caspian, they had spread 
over all Asia Minor, had crossed the Bosphorus, captured 
Constantinople, and had brought all Greece under their sway. 
They were still pressing on, flushed with victory. Christian 

6 



122 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

Europe was trembling before them. And now an army of 
three hundred thousand had crossed the Danube, sweeping all 
opposition before them, and were spreading terror and de- 
struction through Hungary. The capture of that immense 
kingdom seemed to leave all Europe defenseless. 

The emperor and his Catholic friends were fearfully alarmed. 
Here was a danger more to be dreaded than even the doctrines 
of Luther. All the energies of Christendom were requisite to 
repel this invasion. The emperor was compelled to appeal to 
the Protestant princes to cooperate in this great emergence. 
But they had more to fear from the fiery persecution of the 
papal church than from the cimeter of the infidel, and they 
refused any cooperation with the emperor so long as the men- 
aces ol the Augsburg decrees were suspended over them. The 
emperor wished the Protestants to help him drive out the 
Turks, that then, relieved from that danger, he might turn all 
his energies against the Protestants. 

After various negotiations it was agreed, as a temporary 
arrangement, that there should be a truce of the Catholic per- 
secution until another general council should be called, and 
that until then the Protestants should be allowed freedom of 
conscience and of worship. The German States now turned 
their whole force against the Turks. The Protestants contrib- 
uted to the war with energy which amazed the Catholics. 
They even trebled the contingents which they had agreed to 
furnish, and marched to the assault with the greatest intrepid- 
ity. The Turks were driven from Hungary, and then the 
emperor, in violation of his pledge, recommenced proceeding 
against the Protestants. But it was the worst moment the 
infatuated emperor could have selected. The Protestants, 
already armed and marshaled, were not at all disposed to lie 
down to be trodden upon by their foes. They renewed their 
confederacy, drove the emperor's Austrian troops out of the 
territories of Wirtemberg, which they had seized, and restored 
the duchy to the Protestant duke, Ulric. Civil war had now 



CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 123 

commenced. But the Protestants were strong, determined, 
and had proved their valor in the recent war with the Turks. 
The more moderate of the papal party, foreseeing a strife 
which might be interminable, interposed, and succeeded in 
effecting a compromise which again secured transient peace. 

Charles, however, had not yet abandoned his design to 
compel the Protestants to return to the papal church. He 
was merely temporizing till he could bring such an array of 
the papal powers against the reformers that they could present 
no successful resistance. With this intention he entered into 
a secret treaty with the powerful King of France, in which 
Francis agreed to concentrate all the forces of his kingdom to 
crush the Lutheran doctrines. He then succeeded in conclud- 
ing a truce with the Turks for five years. He was now pre- 
pared to act with decision against the reformed religion. 

But while Charles had been marshaling his party the Prot- 
estants had been rapidly increasing. Eloquent preachers, able 
writers, had everywhere proclaimed the corruptions of the 
papacy and urged a pure gospel. These corruptions were so 
palpable that they could not bear the light. The most intelli- 
gent and conscientious, all over Europe, were rapidly embra- 
cing the new doctrines. These new doctrines embraced and 
involved principles of civil as well as religious liberty. The 
Bible is the most formidable book which was ever penned 
against aristocratic usurpation. God is the universal Father. 
All men are brothers. The despots of that day regarded the 
controversy as one which, in the end, involved the stability of 
their thrones. " Give us light," the Protestants said. " Give 
us darkness," responded the papacy, " or the submissive 
masses will rise and overthrow despotic thrones as well as 
idolatrous altars." 

Several of the ablest and most powerful of the bishops 
who, in that day of darkness, had been groping in the dark, 
now that light had come into the world, rejoiced in that light, 
and enthusiastically espoused the truth. The emperor was 



124 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

quite appalled when he learned that the Archbishop of Co- 
logne, who was also one of the electors of the empire, had 
joined the reformers ; for, in addition to the vast influence ol 
his name, this conversion gave the Protestants a majority in the 
electoral diet, so many of the German princes had already 
adopted the opinions of Luther. The Protestants, encouraged 
by the rapidity with which their doctrines were spreading, 
were not at all disposed to humble themselves before their op- 
ponents, but with their hands upon the hilts of their swords, 
declared that they would not bow their necks to intolerance. 

It was indeed a formidable power which the emperor 
was now about to marshal against the Protestants. He had 
France, Spain, all the roused energies of the pope and his ex- 
tended dominions, and all the Catholic States of the empire. 
But Protestantism, which had overrun Germany, had pervaded 
Switzerland and France, and was daily on the increase. The 
pope and the more zealous papists were impatient and indig- 
nant that the emperor did not press his measures with more 
vigor. But the sagacious Charles more clearly saw the diffi- 
culties to be surmounted than they did, and while no less de- 
termined in his resolves, was more prudent and wary in his 
measures. 

With the consent of the pope he summoned a general 
council to meet at Trent on the confines of his own Austrian 
territories, where he could easily have every thing under his 
own control. He did every thing in his power, in the mean- 
time to promote division among the Protestants, by trying to 
enter into private negotiations with the Protestant princes. 
He had the effrontery to urge the Protestants to send their 
divines to the council of Trent, and agreed to abide by its 
decisions, even when that council was summoned by the pope, 
and was to be so organized as to secure an overwhelming ma- 
iority to the papists. T.he Protestants, of course, rejected so 
silly a proposition, and refused to recognize the decrees of such 
a council as of any binding authority. 



CHAELES V. AND THE EEFORMATION. 125 

In preparation for enforcing the decrees which he intended 
to have enacted by the council of Trent, Charles obtained 
from the pope thirteen thousand troops, and five hundred thou- 
sand ducats (one million one hundred thousand dollars). He 
raised one army in the Low Countries to march upon Ger- 
many. He gathered another army in his hereditary States of 
Austria. His brother Ferdinand, as King of Hungary and Bo- 
hemia, raised a large army in each of those dominions. The 
King of France mustered his legions, and boasted of the con- 
dign punishment to which he would consign the heretics. The 
pope issued a decree offering the entire pardon of all sins to 
those who should engage in this holy war for the extirpation 
of the doctrines of the reformers. 

The Protestants were for a moment in consternation in 
view of the gatherings of so portentous a storm. The em- 
peror, by false professions and affected clemency, had so de- 
ceived them that they were quite unprepared for so formida- 
ble an attack. They soon, however, saw that their only salva- 
tion depended upon a vigorous defense, and they marshaled 
their forces for war. With promptness and energy which even 
astonished themselves, they speedily raised an army which, on 
the junction of its several corps, amounted to eighty thousand 
men. In its intelligence, valor, discipline and equij)ments, it 
was probably the best army which had ever been assembled 
in the States of Germany. Resolutely they marched under 
Schartlin, one of the most experienced generals of the age, 
toward Ratisbon, where the emperor was holding a diet. 

Charles V. was as much alarmed by this unexpected ap- 
parition, as the Protestants had been alarmed by the prepara- 
tions of the emperor. He had supposed that his force was so 
resistless that the Protestants would see at once the hopeless- 
ness of resistance, and would yield without a struggle. The 
emperor had a guard of but eight thousand troops at Ratis- 
bon. The Duke of Bavaria, in whose dominions he was, was 
wavering, and the papal troops had not commenced their 



120 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

march. But there was not a moment to be lost. The emperor 
himself might be surrounded and taken captive. He retired 
precipitately about thirty miles south to the strong fortress of 
Landshut, where he could hold out until he received succor 
from his Austrian territories, which were very near, and also 
from the pope. 

Charles soon received powerful reinforcements from Aus- 
tria, from the pope, and from his Spanish kingdom. With 
these he marched some forty miles west to Ingolstadt and in- 
trenched himself beneath its massive walls. Here he waited 
for further reinforcements, and then commencing the offen- 
sive, marched up the Danube, taking possession of the cities 
on either bank. And now the marshaled forces of the em- 
peror began to crowd the Protestants on all sides. The army 
became bewildered, and instead of keeping together, sepa- 
rated to repel the attack at different points. This caused the 
ruin of the Protestant army. The dissevered fragments were 
speedily dispersed. The emperor triumphantly entered the 
Protestant cities of Ulm and Augsburg, Strasbourg and Frank- 
fort, compelled them to accept humiliating conditions, to sur- 
render their artillery and military stores, and to pay enormous 
fines. The Archbishop of Cologne was deposed from his dig- 
nities. The emperor had thrown his foes upon the ground and 
bound them. 

All the Protestant princes but two were vanquished, the 
Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse. It was evi- 
dent that they must soon yield to the overwhelming force of 
the emperor. It was a day of disaster, in which no gleam of 
light seemed to dawn upon the Protestant cause. But in that 
gloomy hour we see again the illustration of that sentiment, 
that " the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the 
strong." Unthinking infidelity says sarcastically, " Providence 
always helps the heavy battalions." But Providence often 
brings to the discomfited, in their despair, reinforcements all 
unlooked for. 






CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 12* 7 

There were in the army of Ferdinand, gathered from the 
Austrian territories by the force of military conscription, many 
troops more or less influenced by the reformed religion. They 
were dissatisfied with this warfare against their brothers, and 
their dissatisfaction increased to murmurs and then to revolt. 
Thus encouraged, the Protestant nobles in Bohemia rose against 
Ferdinand their king, and the victorious Ferdinand suddenly 
found his strong battalions melting away, and his banners on 
the retreat. 

The other powers of Europe began to look with alarm 
upon the vast ascendency which Charles V. was attaining over 
Europe. His exacting and aggressive spirit assumed a more 
menacing aspect than the doctrines of Luther. The King 
of France, Francis I., with the characteristic perfidy of the 
times, meeting cunning with cunning, formed a secret league 
against his ally, combining, in that league, the English ministry 
who governed during the minority of Edward. VI., and also 
the cooperation of the illustrious Gustavus Vasa, the powerful 
King of Sweden, who was then strongly inclined to that faith 
*f the reformers which he afterwards openly avowed. Even 
the pope, who had always felt a little jealous of the power of 
the emperor, thought that as the Protestants were now put 
down it might be well to check the ambition of Charles V. a 
little, and he accordingly ordered all his troops to return to 
Italy. The holy father, Paul III., even sent money to the 
Protestant Elector of Saxony, to enable him to resist the em- 
peror, and sent ambassadors to the Turks, to induce them to 
break the truce and make war upon Christendom, that the em- 
peror might be thus embarrassed. 

Charles thus found himself, in the midst of his victo- 
ries, suddenly at a stand. He could no longer carry on of- 
fensive operations, but was compelled to prepare for defense 
against the attacks with which he was threatened on every 
side. 

Again, the kaleidoscope of political combination received 



128 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

ajar, and all was changed. The King of France died. This 
so embarrassed the affairs of the confederation which Francis 
had organized with so much toil and care, that Charles availed 
himself of it to make a sudden and vigorous march against 
the Elector of Saxony. He entered his territories with an 
army of thirty-three thousand men, and swept all opposition 
before him. In a final and desperate battle the troops of the 
elector were cut to pieces, and the elector himself, sur- 
rounded on all sides, sorely wounded in the face and covered 
with blood, was taken prisoner. Charles disgraced his char- 
acter by the exhibition of a very ignoble spirit of revenge. 
The captive elector, as he was led into the presence of his 
conqueror, said — 

" Most powerful and gracious emperor, the fortune of 
war has now rendered me your prisoner, and I hope to be 
treated — " 

Here the emperor indignantly interrupted him, saying — 

" I am noio your gracious emperor ! Lately you could only 
vouchsafe me the title of Charles of Ghent !" 

Then turning abruptly upon his heel, he consigned his 
prisoner to the custody of one of the Spanish generals. The 
emperor marched immediately to Wittemberg, which was dis- 
tant but a few miles. It was a well fortified town, and was 
resolutely defended by Isabella, the wife of the elector. The 
emperor, maddened by the resistance, summoned a court 
martial, and sentenced the elector to instant death unless he 
ordered the surrender of the fortress. He at first refused, 
and prepared to die. But the tears of his wife and his family 
conquered his resolution, and the city was surrendered. The 
emperor took from his captive the electoral dignity, and ex- 
torted from him the most cruel concessions as the ransom for 
his life. Without a murmur he surrendered wealth, power 
and rank, but neither entreaties nor menaces could induce 
him in a single point to abjure his Christian faith. 

Charles now entered Wittemberg in triumph. The great 



CHAELES V. AND THE EEFORMATION. 129 

reformer had just died. The emperor visited the grave of 
Luther, and when urged to dishonor his remains, replied — 

" I war not with the dead, hut with the living. Let him 
repose in peace ; he is already before his Judge." 

The Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, now the only member ot 
the Protestant league remaining in arms, was in a condition 
utterly hopeless, and was compelled to make an unconditional 
submission. 

The landgrave, ruined in fortune, and crushed in spirit, 
was led a captive into the imperial camp at Halle, in Saxony, 
the 19th of June, 1547. He knelt before the throne, and 
made an humble confession of his crime in resisting the 
emperor ; he resigned himself and all his dominions to the 
clemency of his sovereign. As he rose to kiss the hand of 
the emperor, Charles turned contemptuously from him and 
ordered him to be conveyed to one of the apartments of the 
palace as a prisoner. Most ignobly the emperor led his two 
illustrious captives, the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave 
of Hesse Cassel, as captives from city to city, exhibiting them 
as proofs of his triumph, and as a warning to all others to 
avoid their fate. Very strong jealousies had now sprung up 
between the emperor and the pope, and they could not co- 
operate. The emperor, consequently, undertook to settle the 
religious differences himself. He caused twenty-six articles 
to be drawn up as the basis of pacification, which he wished 
both the Catholics and the Protestants to sign. The pope 
was indignant, and the Catholics were disgusted with this in- 
terference of the emperor in the faith of the Church, a matter 
which in their view belonged exclusively to the pope and the 
councils which he might convene. 

The emperor, however, resolutely persevered in the en- 
deavor to compel the Protestants to subscribe to his articles, 
and punished severely those who refused to do so. In his Bur- 
gundian provinces he endeavored to establish the inquisition, 
that all heresy might be nipped in the bud. In his zeal he 



130 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

quite outstripped the pope. As Julius III. had now ascended 
the pontifical throne, Charles, fearful that he might be too 
liberal in his policy towards the reformers, and might make 
too many concessions, extorted from him the promise that 
he would not introduce any reformation in the Church with- 
out consulting him and obtaining his consent. Thus the pope 
himself became but one of the dependents of Charles V., 
and all the corruptions of the Church were sustained by the 
imperial arm. He then, through the submissive pope, sum- 
moned a council of Catholic divines to meet at Trent. He 
had arranged in his own mind the decrees which they were 
to issue, and had entered into a treaty with the new King of 
France, Henry II., by which the French monarch agreed, 
with all the military force of his kingdom, to maintain the 
decrees of the council of Trent, whatever they might be. 

The emperor had now apparently attained all his ends. 
He had crushed the Protestant league, vanquished the Prot- 
estant princes, subjected the pope to his will, arranged re- 
ligious matters according to his views, and had now assembled 
a subservient council to ratify and confirm all he had done. 
But with this success he had become arrogant, implacable 
and cruel. His friends had become alienated and his enemies 
exasperated. Even the most rigorous Catholics were alarmed 
at his assumptions, and the pope was humiliated by his 
haughty bearing. 

Charles assembled a diet of the States of the empire at 
Augsburg, the 26th of July, 1550. He entered the city with 
the pomp and the pride of a conqueror, and with such an array 
of military force as to awe the States into compliance with his 
wishes. He then demanded of all the States of the empire an 
agreement that they would enforce in all their dominions the 
decrees of the council of Trent, which council was soon to be 
convened. There is sublimity in the energy with which this 
monarch moved, step by step, toward the accomplishment of 
his plans. He seemed to leave no chance for failure. The 



CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION, 131 

members of the diet were as obsequious as spaniels to their 
imperious master, and watched his countenance to learn when 
they were to say yes, and when no. 

In one thing only he failed. He wished to have his son 
Philip elected as his successor on the imperial throne. His 
brother Ferdinand opposed him in this ambitious plan, and 
thus emboldened the diet to declare that while the emperor 
was living it was illegal to choose his successor, as it tended 
to render the imperial crown hereditary. The emperor, saga- 
cious as he was domineering, waived the prosecution of his 
plan for the present, preparing to resume it when he had pun- 
ished and paralyzed those who opposed. 

The emperor had deposed Frederic the Elector of Saxony, 
and placed over his dominons, Maurice, a nephew of the de- 
posed elector. Maurice had married a daughter of the Land- 
grave of Hesse Cassel. He was a man of commanding abili- 
ties, and as shrewd, sagacious and ambitious as the emperor 
himself. He had been strongly inclined to the Lutheran doc- 
trines, but had been bought over to espouse the cause 01 
Charles V. by the brilliant offer of the territories of Saxony. 
Maurice, as he saw blow after blow falling upon his former 
friends ; one prince after another ejected from his estates, 
Protestantism crushed, and finally his own uncle and his wife's 
father led about to grace the triumph of the conqueror; as he 
saw the vast power to which the emperor had attained, and 
that the liberties of the German empire were in entire sub- 
jection to his will, his pride was wounded, his patriotism 
aroused, and his Protestant sympathies revived. Maurice, 
meeting Charles V. on the field of intrigue, was Greek meet- 
ing Greek. 

Maurice now began with great guile and profound sagaci- 
ty to plot against the despotic emperor. Two circumstances 
essentially aided him. Charles coveted the dukedoms of Par- 
ma and Placentia in Italy, and the Duke Ottavia had been de- 
posed. He rallied his subjects and succeeded in uniting France 



132 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

on his side, for Henry II. was alarmed at the encroachments 
the emperor was making in Italy. A very fierce war instantly 
blazed forth, the Duke of Parma and Henry II. on one side, 
the pope and the emperor on the other. At the same time 
the Turks, under the leadership of the Sultan Solyman him- 
self, were organizing a formidable force for the invasion of 
Hungary, which invasion would require all the energies of 
Ferdinand, with all the forces he could raise in Austria, Hun- 
gary and Bohemia to repel. 

Next to Hungary and Bohemia, Saxony was perhaps the 
most powerful State of the Germanic confederacy. The em- 
peror placed full reliance upon Maurice, and the Protestants 
in their despair would have thought of him as the very last to 
come to their aid ; for he had marched vigorously in the arm- 
ies of the emperor to crush the Protestants, and was occupy- 
ing the territories of their most able and steadfast friend. Se- 
cretly, Maurice made proposals to all the leading Protestant 
princes of the empire, and having made every thing ready for 
an outbreak, he entered into a treaty with the King of France, 
who promised large subsidies and an efficient military force. 

Maurice conducted these intrigues with such consummate 
skill that the emperor had not the slightest suspicion of the 
storm which was gathering. Every thing being matured, ear- 
ly in April, 1552, Maurice suddenly appeared before the gates 
of Augsburg with an army of twenty-five thousand men. At 
the same time he issued a declaration that he had taken up 
arms to prevent the destruction of the Protestant religion, to 
defend the liberties of Germany which the emperor had in- 
fringed, and to rescue his relatives from their long and unjust 
imprisonment. The King of France and other princes issued 
similar declarations. The smothered disaffection with the em- 
peror instantly blazed forth all over the German empire. The 
cause of Maurice was extremely popular. The Protestants in 
a mass, and many others, flocked to his standard. As by magic 
and in a day, all was changed. The imperial towns Augsburg, 



CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 133 

Nuremberg and others, threw open their gates joyfully to 
Maurice. Whole provinces rushed to his standard. He was 
everywhere received as the guardian of civil and religious 
liberty. The ejected Protestant rulers and magistrates were 
reinstated, the Protestant churches opened, the Protestant 
preachers restored. In one month the Protestant party was 
predominant in the German empire, and the Catholic party 
either neutral or secretly flavoring one who was humbling that 
haughty emperor whom even the Catholics had begun to fear. 
The prelates who were assembling at Trent, alarmed by so 
sudden and astounding a revolution, dissolved the assembly 
and hastened to their homes. 

The emperor was at Innspruck seated in his arm chair, with 
his limbs bandaged in flannel, enfeebled and suffering from a 
severe attack of the gout, when the intelligence of this sud- 
den and overwhelming reverse reached him. He was aston- 
ished and utterly confounded. In weakness and pain, unable 
to leave his couch, with his treasury exhausted, his armies 
widely scattered, and so pressed by their foes that they could 
not be concentrated from their wide dispersion, there was 
nothing left for him but to endeavor to beguile Maurice into 
a truce. But Maurice was as much at home in all the arts of 
cunning as the emperor, and instead of being beguiled, con- 
trived to entrap his antagonist. This was a new and a very 
salutary experience for Charles. It is a very novel sensation 
for a successful rogue to be the dupe of roguery. 

Maurice pressed on, his army gathering force at every step. 
He entered the Tyrol, swept through all its valleys, took pos- 
session of all its castles and its sublime fastnesses, and the blasts 
of his bugles reverberated among the cliffs of the Alps, ever 
sounding the charge and announcing victory, never signaling 
a defeat. The emperor was reduced to the terrible humilia- 
tion of saving himself from capture only by flight. The em- 
peror could hardly credit his senses when told that his con- 
quering foes were within two days' march of Innspruck, and 



134 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

that a squadron of horse might at any hour appear and cut off 
his retreat. It was in the night when these appalling tidings 
were brought to him. The tortures of the gout w r ould not 
allow him to mount on horseback, neither could he bear the 
jolting in a carriage over the rough roads. It was a dark and 
stormy night, the 20th of May, 1552. The rain fell in tor- 
rents, and the wind howled through the fir-trees and around 
the crags of the Alps. Some attendants wrapped the monarch 
in blankets, took him out into the court-yard of the palace, 
and placed him in a litter. Attendants led the way with lan- 
terns, and thus, through the inundated and storm-swept defiles 
of the mountains, they fled with their helpless sovereign 
through the long hours of the tempestuous night, not daring 
to stop one moment lest they should hear behind them the 
clatter of the iron hoofs of their pursuers. What a change 
for one short month to produce ! What a comment upon 
earthly grandeur ! It is w r ell for man in the hour of most 
exultant prosperity to be humble. He knows not how soon 
he may fall. Instructive indeed is the apostrophe of Cardinal 
Wolsey, illustrated as the truth he utters is by almost every 
page of history : 

" This is the state of man ; to-day he puts forth 
The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms, 
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost ; 
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely 
His greatness is a ripening — nips his root, 
And then he falls as I do." 

The fugitive emperor did not venture to stop for refresh- 
ment or repose until he had reached the strong town of Vil- 
lach in Carinthia, nearly one hundred and fifty miles west of 
Innspruck. The troops of Maurice soon entered the city 
w T hich the emperor had abandoned, and the imperial palace 
w r as surrendered to pillage. Heroic courage, indomitable per- 
severance always commands respect. These are great and 
noble qualities, though they may be exerted in a bad cause. 



CHARLES V. AND THE REFORMATION. 135 

The will of Charles was unconquerable. In these hours of 
disaster, tortured with jmin, driven from his palace, deserted 
by his allies, impoverished, and borne upon his litter in hu- 
miliating flight before his foes, he was just as determined to 
enforce his plans as in the most brilliant hour of victory. 

He sent his brother Ferdinand and other ambassadors to 
Passau to meet Maurice, and mediate for a settlement of the 
difficulties. Maurice now had no need of diplomacy. His de- 
mands were simple and reasonable. They were, that the em- 
peror should liberate his father-in-law from captivity, tolerate 
the Protestant religion, and grant to the German States their 
accustomed liberty. But the emperor would not yield a sin- 
gle point. Though his brother Ferdinand urged him to yield, 
though his Catholic ambassadors intreated him to yield, though 
they declared that if he did not they should be compelled to 
abandon his cause and make the best terms for themselves 
with the conqueror that they could, still nothing could bend 
his inflexible will, and the armies, after the lull of a few days, 
were again in motion. The despotism of the emperor we ab- 
hor ; but his indomitable perseverance and unconquerable en- 
ergy are worthy of all admiration and imitation. Had they 
but been exerted in a good cause ! 



CHAPTER IX. 

CHARLES V. AND THE TURKISH "WARS. 

From 1552 to 1555. 

The Treaty of Passau. — The Emperor yields. — His continued Reverses. — Thb 
Toleration Compromise. — Mutual Dissatisfaction. — Remarkable Despondency 
of the Emperor Charles. — His Address to the Convention at Brussels. — The 
Convent of St. Justus. — Charles returns to Spain. — His Convent Life. — The 
mock Burial. — His Death. — His Traits of Charaoter. — The King's Compliment 
to Titian. — The Condition of Austria.— Rapid Advance of the Turks.— Rea- 
sons for the Inaction of the Christians. — The Sultan's Method of overcoming 
Difficulties. — The little Fortress of Guntz. — What it accomplished. 

THE Turks, animated by this civil war which was raging in 
Germany, were pressing their march upon Hungary with 
great vigor, and the troops of Ferdinand were retiring dis- 
comfited before the invader. Henry of France and the Duke 
of Parma were also achieving victories in Italy endangering 
the whole power of the emperor over those States. Ferdi- 
nand, appalled by the prospect of the loss of Hungary, im- 
ploringly besought the emperor to listen to terms of recon- 
ciliation. The Catholic princes, terrified in view of the progress 
of the infidel, foreseeing the entire subjection of Europe to 
the arms of the Moslem unless Christendom could combine in 
self-defense, joined their voices with that of Ferdinand so ear- 
nestly and in such impassioned tones, that the emperor finally, 
though very reluctantly, gave his assent to the celebrated 
treaty of Passau, on the 2d of August, 1552. By this pacifica- 
tion the captives were released, freedom of conscience and of 
worship was established, and the Protestant troops, being dis- 
banded, were at liberty to enter into the service of Ferdinand 
to repel the Turks. Within six months a diet was to be as- 



CHAELES V. AND THE TURKISH WARS. 13? 

sembled to attempt an amicable adjustment of all civil and re- 
ligious difficulties. 

The intrepid Maurice immediately marched, accompanied 
by many of the Protestant princes, and at the head of a pow- 
erful army, to repel the Mohammedan armies. Charles, re- 
lieved from his German troubles, gathered his strength to 
wreak revenge upon the King of France. But fortune seemed 
to have deserted him. Defeat and disgrace accompanied his 
march. Having penetrated the French province of Lorraine, 
he laid siege to Metz. After losing thirty thousand men be- 
neath its walls, he was compelled, in the depth of winter, to 
raise the siege and retreat. His armies were everywhere 
routed ; the Turks menaced the shores of Italy ; the pope be- 
came his inveterate enemy, and joined France against him. 
Maurice was struck by a bullet, and fell on the field of battle. 
The electorate of Saxony passed into the hands of Augustus, 
a brother of Maurice, w T hile the former elector, Ferdinand, who 
shortly after died, received some slight indemnification. 

Such was the state of affairs when the promised diet was 
summoned at Passau. It met on the 5th of February, 1555. 
The emperor w r as confined with the gout at Brussels, and his 
brother Ferdinand presided. It was a propitious hour for 
the Protestants. Charles was sick, dejected and in adversity. 
The better portion of the Catholics were disgusted w T ith the 
intolerance of the emperor, intolerance which even the more 
conscientious popes could not countenance. Ferdinand was 
fully aware that he could not defend his own kingdom of Hun- 
gary from the Turks without the intervention of Protestant 
arms. He was, therefore, warmly in favor of conciliation. 

The world was not yet sufficiently enlightened to compre- 
hend thebeauty of a true toleration, entire freedom of conscience 
and of worship. After long and very exciting debates — after 
being again and again at the point of grasping their arms 
anew- -they finally agreed that the Protestants should enjoy 
the free exercise of ther religion wherever Protestantism had 



138 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

been established and recognized by the Confession of Augs- 
burg. That in all other places Protestant princes might pro- 
hibit the Catholic religion in their States, and Catholic princes 
prohibit the Protestant religion. But in each case the ejected 
party was at liberty to sell their property and move without 
molestation to some State where their religion was dominant. 
In the free cities of the empire, where both religions were es- 
tablished, both were to be tolerated. 

Thus far, and no further, had the spirit of toleration made 
progress in the middle of the sixteenth century. 

Such was the basis of the pacification. Neither party was 
satisfied. Each felt that it had surrendered far too much to 
the other ; and there was subsequently much disagreement 
respecting the interpretation of some of the most important 
articles. The pope, Paul IV., was indignant that such tolera- 
tion had been granted to the Protestants, and threatened the 
emperor and his brother Ferdinand of Austria with excommu- 
nication if they did not declare these decrees null and void 
throughout their dominions. At the same time he entered 
into correspondence with Henry II. of France to form a new 
holy league for the defense of the papal church against the 
inroads of heresy. 

And now occurred one of the most extraordinary events 
which history has recorded. Charles V., who had been the 
most enterprising and ambitious prince in Europe, and the 
most insatiable in his thirst for power, became the victim of 
the most extreme despondency. Harassed by the perplexities 
which pressed in upon him from his widely-extended realms, 
annoyed by the undutiful and haughty conduct of his son, who 
was endeavoring to wrest authority from his father by taking 
advantage of all his misfortunes, and perhaps inheriting a mel- 
ancholy temperament from his mother, who died in the glooms 
of insanity, and, more than all, mortified and wounded by so 
sudden and so vast a reverse of fortune, in which all his plans 
seemed to have failed — thus oppressed, humbled, despondent, 



CHAELES V. AND THE TUEKISH WAES, 139 

he retired in disgust to his room, indulged in the most fretful 
temper, admitted none but his sister and a few confidential 
servants to his presence, and so entirely neglected all business 
as to pass nine months without signing a single paper. 

While the emperor was in this melancholy state, his insane 
mother, who had lingered for years in delirious gloom, died on 
the 4th of April, 1555. It will be remembered that Charles 
had inherited valuable estates in the Low Countries from his 
marriage with the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy. Hav- 
ing resolved to abdicate all his power and titles in favor of his 
son, he convened the States of the Low Countries at Brussels 
on the 25th of October, 1555. Charles was then but fifty-five 
years of age, and should have been in the strength of vigorous 
manhood. But he was prematurely old, worn down with care, 
toil and disappointment. He attended the assembly accom- 
panied by his son Philip. Tottering beneath infirmities, he 
leaned upon the shoulders of a friend for support, and ad- 
dressed the assembly in a long and somewhat boastful speech, 
enumerating all the acts of his administration, his endeavors, 
his long and weary journeys, his sleepless care, his wars, and, 
above all, his victories. In conclusion he said : 

" While my health enabled me to perform my duty, I 
cheerfully bore the burden ; but as my constitution is now 
broken by an incurable distemper, and my infirmities admonish 
me to retire, the happiness of my people affects me more than 
the ambition of reigning. Instead of a decrepid old man, tot- 
tering on the brink of the grave, I transfer your allegiance to 
a sovereign in the prime of life, vigilant, sagacious, active and 
enterprising. With respect to myself, if I have committed 
any error in the course of a long administration, forgive and 
impute it to my weakness, not to my intention. I shall ever 
retain a grateful sense of your fidelity and attachment, and 
your welfare shall be the great object of my prayers to Al- 
mighty God, to whom I now consecrate the remainder of my 
days." 



140 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Then turning to his son Philip, he said : 

" And you, my son, let the grateful recollection of this day 
redouble your care and affection for your people. Other 
sovereigns may rejoice in having given birth to their sons and 
in leaving their States to them after their death. But I am 
anxious to enjoy, during my life, the double satisfaction of feel- 
ing that you are indebted to me both for your birth and 
power. Few monarchs will follow my example, and in the 
lapse of ages I have scarcely found one whom I myself would 
imitate. The resolution, therefore, which I have taken, and 
which I now carry into execution, will be justified only by 
your proving yourself worthy of it. And you will alone ren- 
der yourself worthy of the extraordinary confidence which I 
now repose in you by a zealous protection of your religion, 
and by maintaining the purity of the Catholic faith, and by 
governing with justice and moderation. And may you, if ever 
you are desirous of retiring like myself to the tranquillity of 
private life, enjoy the inexpressible happiness of having such a 
son, that you may resign your crown to him with the same 
satisfaction as I now deliver mine to you." 

The emperor was here entirely overcome by emotion, and 
embracing Philip, sank exhausted into his chair. The affecting 
scene moved all the audience to tears. Soon after this, with 
the same formalities the emperor resigned the crown of Spain 
to his son, reserving to himself, of all his dignities and vast 
revenues, only a pension of about twenty thousand dollars a 
year. For some months he remained in the Low Countries, 
and then returned to Spain to seek an asylum in a convent 
there. 

When in the pride of his power he once, while journeying 
in Spain, came upon the convent of St. Justus in Estrama- 
dura, situated in a lovely vale, secluded from all the bustle 
of life. The massive pile was embosomed among the hills ; 
forests spread widely around, and a beautiful rivulet murmured 
by its walls. As the emperor gazed upon the enchanting scene 



CHARLES V. AND THE TURKISH WARS. 141 

of solitude and silence he exclaimed, " Behold a lovely retreat 
for another Diocletian !" 

The picture of the convent of St. Justus had ever remained 
in his mind, and perhaps had influenced him, when over- 
whelmed with care, to seek its peaceful retirement. Embark- 
ing in a ship for Spain, he landed at Loredo on the 28th of 
September, 1556. As soon as his feet touched the soil of his 
native land he prostrated himself to the earth, kissed the 
ground, and said, 

" Naked came I into the world, and naked I return to 
thee, thou common mother of mankind. To thee I dedicate 
my body, as the only return I can make for all the benefits 
conferred on me." 

Then kneeling, and holding the crucifix before him, with 
tears streaming from his eyes, and all unmindful of the at- 
tendants who were around, he breathed a fervent prayer of 
gratitude for the past, and commended himself to God for the 
future. By slow and easy stages, as he was very infirm, he 
journeyed to the vale of Estramadura, near Placentia, and 
entered upon his silent, monastic life. 

His apartments consisted of six small cells. The stone 
walls were whitewashed, and the rooms furnished with the 
utmost frugality. Within the walls of the convent, and com- 
municating with the chapel, there was a small garden, which 
the emperor had tastefully arranged with shrubbery and 
flowers. Here Charles passed the brief remainder of his days. 
He amused himself with laboring in the garden with his own 
hands. He regularly attended worship in the chapel twice 
every day, and took part in the service, manifestly with the 
greatest sincerity and devotion. 

The emperor had not a cultivated mind, and was not fond 
of either literary or scientiiic pursuits. To beguile the hours 
he amused himself with tools, carving toys for children, and 
ingenious puppets and automata to astonish the peasants. For 
a time he was very happy in his new employment. After so 



142 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

stormy a life, the perfect repose and freedom from care which 
he enjoyed in the convent, seemed to him the perfection of 
bliss. But soon the novelty wore away, and his constitutional 
despondency returned with accumulated power. 

His dejection now assumed the form of religious melan- 
choly. He began to devote every moment of his time to de- 
votional reading and prayer, esteeming all amusements and 
all employments sinful which interfered with his spiritual ex- 
ercises. He expressed to the Bishop of Toledo his determina- 
tion to devote, for the rest of his days, every moment to the 
service of God. With the utmost scrupulousness he carried 
out this plan. He practiced rigid fasts, and conformed to all 
the austerity of convent discipline. He renounced his pen- 
sion, and sitting at the abstemious table with the monks, de- 
clined seeing any other company than that of the world- 
renouncing priests and friars around him. He scourged him- 
self with the most cruel severity, till his back was lacerated 
with the whip. He whole soul seemed to crave suffering, in 
expiation for his sins. His ingenuity was tasked to devise 
new methods of mortification and humiliation. Ambition had 
ever been the ruling passion of his soul, and now he was am- 
bitious to suffer more, and to abuse himself more than any 
other mortal had ever done. 

Goaded by this impulse, he at last devised the scheme of 
solemnizing his own funeral. All the melancholy arrange- 
ments for his burial were made ; the coffin provided ; the em- 
peror reclined upon his bed as dead ; he was wrapped in his 
shroud, and placed in his coffin. The monks, and all the in- 
mates of the convent attended in mourning ; the bells tolled ; 
requiems were chanted by the choir ; the funeral service was 
read, and then the emperor, as if dead, was placed in the 
tomb of the chapel, and the congregation retired. The mon- 
arch, after remaining some time in his coffin to impress him- 
self with the sense of what it is to die, and be buried, rose 
from his tomb, kneeled before the altar for some time in wor* 



CHARLES V. AND THE TURKISH WARS. 14S 

ship, and then returned to his cell to pass the night in deep 
meditation and prayer. 

The shock and the chill of this solemn scene were too 
much for the old monarch's feeble frame and weakened mind. 
He was seized with a fever, and in a few days breathed his 
last, in the 59th year of his age. He had spent a little over 
three years in the convent. The life of Charles V. was a sad 
one. Through all his days he was consumed by unsatisfied 
ambition, and he seldom enjoyed an hour of contentment. To 
his son he said — 

" I leave you a heavy burden ; for, since my shoulders 
have borne it, I have not passed one day exempt from dis- 
quietude." 

Indeed it would seem that there could have been but little 
happiness for anybody in those dark days of feudal oppression 
and of incessant wars. Ambition, intrigue, duplicity, reigned 
over the lives of princes and nobles, while the masses of the 
people were ever trampled down by oppressive lords and con- 
tending armies. Europe was a field of fire and blood. The 
cimeter of the Turk spared neither mother, maiden nor babe. 
Cities and villages were mercilessly burned, cottages set in 
flames, fields of grain destroyed, and whole populations car- 
ried into slavery, where they miserably died. And the rav- 
ages of Christian warfare, duke against duke, baron against 
baron, king against king, were hardly less cruel and desolat- 
ing. Balls from opposing batteries regard not the helpless 
ones in their range. Charging squadrons must trample down 
with iron hoof all who are in their way. The wail of misery 
rose from every portion of Europe. The world has surely 
made some progress since that day. 

There was but very little that was loveable in the charac- 
ter of Charles, and he seems to have had but very few friends. 
So intense and earnest was he in the prosecution of the plans 
of grandeur which engrossed his soul, that he was seldom 
known to smile. He had many of the attributes of greatness, 



144 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

indomitable energy and perseverance, untiring industry, com- 
prehensive grasp of thought and capability of superintend- 
ing the minutest details. He had, also, a certain fanatic con- 
scientiousness about him, like that which actuated Saul of 
Tarsus, when, holding the garments of those who stoned the 
martyr, he " verily thought that he was doing God ser- 
vice." 

Many anecdotes are told illustrative of certain estimable 
traits in his character. When a boy, like other boys, he was 
not fond of study, and being very self-willed, he would not 
yield to the entreaties of his tutors. He consequently had but 
an imperfect education, which may in part account for his 
excessive illiberality, and for many of his stupendous follies. 
The mind, enlarged by liberal culture, is ever tolerant. He 
afterwards regretted exceedingly this neglect of his early 
studies. At Genoa, on some public occasion, he was ad- 
dressed in a Latin oration, not one word of which he under 
stood. 

" I now feel," he said, " the justice of my preceptor 
Adrian's remonstrances, who frequently used to predict that 
I should be punished for the thoughtlessness of my youth." 

He was fond of the society of learned men, and treated 
them with great respect. Some of the nobles complained 
that the emperor treated the celebrated historian, Guicciar- 
dini, with much more respect than he did them. He re- 
plied — 

" I can, by a word, create a hundred nobles ; but God 
alone can create a Guicciardini." 

He greatly admired the genius of Titian, and considered 
him one of the most resplendent ornaments of his empire. 
He knew full well that Titian would be remembered long 
after thousands of the proudest grandees of his empire had 
sunk into oblivion. He loved to go into the studio of the 
illustrious painter, and watch the creations of beauty as they 
rose beneath his pencil. One day Titian accidentally dropped 



CHARLES V. AND THE TURKISH WARS. 145 

Lis brush. The emperor picked it up, and, presenting it to 
the artist, said gracefully — 

" Titian is worthy of being served by an emperor." 

Charles V. never, apparently, inspired the glow of affec- 
tion, or an emotion of enthusiasm in any bosom. He accom- 
plished some reforms in the German empire, and the only 
interest his name now excites is the interest necessarily in- 
volved in the sublime drama of his long and eventful reign. 

It is now necessary to retrace our steps for a few years, 
that we may note the vicissitudes of Austria, while the em- 
pire was passing through the scenes we have narrated. ■ 

Ferdinand I., the brother of Charles V., who was left alone 
in the government of Austria, was the second son of Philip 
the Handsome and Joanna of Spain. His birth was illustrious, 
the Emperor Maximilian being his paternal grandfather, and 
Ferdinand and Isabella being his grandparents on his mother's 
side. He was born in Spain, March 10, 1503, and received a 
respectable education. His manners were courteous and win- 
ning, and he was so much more popular than Charles as quite 
to excite the jealousy of his imperious and imperial spirit. 
Charles, upon attaining the throne, ceded to his brother the 
Austrian territories, which then consisted of four small prov- 
inces, Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, with the Tyrol. 

Ferdinand married Ann, princess of Hungary and Bohemia. 
The death of his wife's brother Louis made her the heiress of 
those two crowns, and thus secured to Ferdinand the magni- 
ficent dowry of the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia. But 
possession of the scepter of those realms was by no means a 
sinecure. The Turkish power, which had been for many years 
increasing with the most alarming rapidity and had now ac- 
quired appalling strength, kept Hungary, and even the Aus- 
trian States, in constant and terrible alarm. 

The Turks, sweeping over Persia, Arabia, Egypt, Syria, 
all Asia Minor, crossing the straits and inundating Greece, 
fierce and semi-savage, with just civilization enough to organ- 

7 



146 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

ize and guide with skill their wolf-like ferocity, were now press- 
ing Europe in Spain, in Italy, and were crowding, in wave 
after wave of invasion, up the valley of the Danube. They 
had created a navy which was able to cope with the most pow- 
erful fleets of Europe, and island after island of the Mediter- 
ranean was yielding to their sway. 

In 1520, Solyman, called the Magnificent, overran Bosnia, 
and advancing.to the Danube, besieged and captured Belgrade, 
which strong fortress was considered the only reliable barrier 
against his encroachments. At the same time his fleet took 
possession of the island of Rhodes. After some slight reverses, 
which the Turks considered merely embarrassments, they re- 
sumed their aggressions, and Solyman, in 1525, again crossing 
the Danube, entered Hungary with an army of two hundred 
thousand men. Louis, who was then King of Hungary, brother 
of the wife of Ferdinand, was able to raise an army of but 
thirty thousand to meet him. With more courage than dis- 
cretion, leading this feeble band, he advanced to resist the foe. 
They met on the plains of Mohatz. The Turks made short 
work of it. In a few hours, with their cimeters they heAved 
down nearly the whole Christian army. The remnant escaped 
as lambs from wolves. The king, in his heavy armor, spur- 
red his horse into a stream to cross in his flight. In attempt- 
ing to ascend the bank, the noble charger, who had borne his 
master bravely through the flood, fell back upon his rider, and 
the dead body of the king was afterward picked up by the 
Turks, covered with the mud of the morass. All Hungary 
would now have fallen into the hands of the Turks had not 
Solyman been recalled by a rebellion in one of his own prov- 
inces. 

It was this event which placed the crowns of Bohemia and 
Hungary on the brow of Ferdinand, and by annexing those 
two kingdoms to the Austrian States, elevated Austria to be 
one of the first powers in Europe. Ferdinand, thus strength- 
ened sent ambassadors to Constantinople to demand the restitu- 



CHARLES V. AND THE TURKISH WARS. 147 

tion of Belgrade and other important towns which the Turks 
still held in Hungary. 

" Belgrade !" exclaimed the haughty sultan, when he heard 
the demand. " Go tell your master that I am collecting troops 
and preparing for my expedition. I will suspend at my neck 
the keys of my Hungarian fortresses, and will bring them to 
that plain of Mohatz where Louis, by the aid of Providence, 
found defeat and a grave. Let Ferdinand meet and conquer 
me, and take them, after severing my head from my body ! 
But if I find him not there, I will seek him at Buda or follow 
him to Vienna." 

Soon after this Solyman crossed the Danube with three 
hundred thousand men, and advancing to Mohatz, encamped 
for several days upon the plain, with all possible display 01 
Oriental pomp and magnificence. Thus proudly he threw 
down the gauntlet of defiance. But there was no champion 
there to take it up. Striking his tents, and spreading his ban- 
ners to the breeze, in unimpeded march he ascended the Dan- 
ube two hundred miles from Belgrade to the city of Pest. 
And here his martial bands made hill and vale reverberate the 
bugle blasts of victory. Pest, the ancient capital of Hungary, 
rich in all the wealth of those days, with a population of some 
sixty thousand, was situated on the left bank of the river. 
Upon the opposite shore, connected by a fine bridge three 
quarters of a mile in width, was the beautiful and opulent city 
of Buda. In possession of these two maritime towns, then 
perhaps the most important in Hungary, the Turks rioted for 
a few days in luxury and all abominable outrage and indul- 
gence, and then, leaving a strong garrison to hold the for- 
tresses, they continued their march. Pressing resistlessly on- 
ward some hundred miles further, taking all the towns by the 
way, on both sides of the Danube, they came to the city of 
Raab. 

It seems incredible that there could have been such an un- 
obstructed march of the Turks, through the very heart of 



148 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

Hungary. But the Emperor Charles V. was at that time in 
Italy, all engrossed in the fiercest warfare there. Throughout 
the German empire the Cathoh'cs and the Protestants were 
engaged in a conflict which absorbed all other thoughts. And 
the Protestants resolutely refused to assist in repelling the 
Turks while the sword of Catholic vengeance was suspended 
over them. From Raab the invading army advanced some 
hundred miles further to the very walls of Vienna. Ferdi- 
nand, conscious of his inability to meet the foe in the open field, 
was concentrating all his available strength to defend his capital. 

At Cremnitz the Turks met with the first serious show of 
resistance. The fortress was strong, and the garrison, inspired 
by the indomitable energy and courage of their commandant, 
Nicholas, Count of Salm, for a month repelled every assault 
of the foe. Day after day and night after night the inces- 
sant bombardment continued ; the walls were crumbled by the 
storm of shot ; column after column of the Turks rushed to 
the assault, but all in vain. The sultan, disappointed and en- 
raged, made one last desperate effort, but his strong columns, 
thinned, mangled and bleeding, were compelled to retire in 
utter discomfiture. 

Winter was now approaching. Reinforcements were also 
hastening from Vienna, from Bohemia, and from other parts 
of the German empire. Solyman, having devastated the coun- 
try around him, and being all unprepared for the storms oi 
winter, was compelled to retire. He struck his tents, and 
slowly and sullenly descended the Danube, wreaking diaboli- 
cal vengeance upon the helpless peasants, killing, burning and 
destroying. Leaving a strong garrison to hold what remained 
of Buda and Pest, he carried thousands with him into captiv- 
ity, where, after years of woe, they passed into the grave. 

" 'Tis terrible to rouse the lion, 

Dreadful to cross the tiger's path ; 
But the most terrible of terrors, 
Is man himself in his wild wrath." 



CHABLE8 V. AND THE TURKISH WARS. 149 

Solyman spent two years in making preparation for another 
march to Vienna, resolved to wipe out the disgrace of his last 
defeat by capturing all the Austrian States, and of then spread- 
ing the terror of his arms far and wide through the empire ot 
Germany. The energy with which he acted may be inferred 
from one well authenticated anecdote illustrative of his char- 
acter. He had ordered a bridge to be constructed across the 
Drave. The engineer who had been sent to accomplish the 
task, after a careful survey, reported that a bridge could not 
be constructed at that point. Solyman sent him a linen cord 
with this message : 

" The sultan, thy master, commands thee, without consid- 
eration of the difficulties, to complete the bridge over the 
Drave. If thou doest it not, on his arrival he will have thee 
strangled with this cord." 

With a large army, thoroughly drilled, and equipped with 
all the enginery of war, the sultan commenced his campaign. 
His force was so stupendous and so incumbered with the ne- 
cessary baggage and heavy artillery, that it required a march of 
sixty days to pass from Constantinople to Belgrade. Ferdi- 
nand, in inexpressible alarm, sent ambassadors to Solyman, 
hoping to avert the storm by conciliation and concessions. 
This indication of weakness but increased the arrogance of the 
Turk. 

He embarked his artillery on the Danube in a flotilla of 
three thousand vessels. Then crossing the Save, which at 
Belgrade flows into the Danube, he left the great central river 
of Europe on his right, and marching almost due west through 
Sclavonia, approached the frontiers of Styria, one of the most 
important provinces of the Austrian kingdom, by the shortest 
route. Still it was a long march of some two hundred miles. 
Among the defiles of the Illyrian mountains, through which 
he was compelled to pass in his advance to Vienna, he came 
upon the little fortress of Guntz, garrisoned only by eight hun- 
dred men. Solyman expected to sweep this slight annoyance 



150 THE HOUSE OF A.USTEIA. 

away as he would brush a fly from his face. He sent his ad- 
vance guard to demolish the impudent obstacle; then, sur- 
prised by the resistance, he pushed forward a few more bat- 
talions ; then, enraged at the unexpected strength developed, 
he ordered to the attack what he deemed an overwhelming 
force ; and then, in astonishment and fury, impelled against 
the fortress the combined strength of his whole army. But 
the little crag stood, like a rock opposing the flooding tide. 
The waves of war rolled on and dashed against impenetrable 
and immovable granite, and were scattered back in bloody 
spray. The fortress commanded the pass, and swept it clean 
with an unintermitted storm of shot and balls. For twenty- 
eight days the fortress resisted the whole force of the Turk- 
ish army, and prevented it from advancing a mile. This 
check gave the terrified inhabitants of Vienna, and of the sur- 
rounding region, time to unite for the defense of the capital. 
The Protestants and the Catholics having settled their diffi- 
culties by the pacification of Ratisbon, as we have before nar- 
rated, combined all their energies ; the pope sent his choicest 
troops; all the ardent young men of the German empire, 
from the ocean to the Alps, rushed to the banners of the cross, 
and one hundred and thirty thousand men, including thirty 
thousand mounted horsemen, were speedily gathered within 
and around the walls of Vienna. 

Thus thwarted in his plans, Solyman found himself com- 
pelled to retreat ingloriously, by the same path through which 
he had advanced. Thus Christendom was relieved of this ter- 
rible menace. Though the Turks were still in possession of 
Hungary, the allied troops of the empire strangely dispersed 
without attempting to regain the kingdom from their domina- 
tion. 



CHAPTER X. 

FERDINAND I.— HIS WARS AND INTRIGUES. 

From 1555 to 1562. 

John of Tapoli. — The Instability of Compacts. — The Sultan's Demands. — A 
Eeign of War. — Powers and Duties of the Monarchs of Bohemia. — The 
Diet. — The King's Desire to crush Protestantism. — The Entrance to 
Prague. — Terror of the Inhabitants.— The King's Conditions. — The bloody 
Diet. — Disciplinary Measures. — The establishment of the Order of Jesuits. — 
Abdication of Charles V. in favor of Ferdinand. — Power of the Pope. — 
Paul IV. — A quiet but powerful Blow. — The Progress of the Reformers. 
— Attempts to reconcile the Protestants. — The unsuccessful Assembly. 

DURING all the wars with the Turks, a Tran sylvan ian 
count, John of Tapoli, was disputing Ferdinand's right 
t< , the throne of Hungary and claiming it for himself. He 
even entered into negotiations with the Turks, and cooper- 
ated with Solyman in his invasion of Hungary, having the 
promise of the sultan that he should be appointed king of the 
realm as soon as it was brought in subjection to Turkey. The 
Turks had now possession of Hungary, and the sultan invested 
John of Tapoli with the sovereignty of the kingdom, in the 
presence of a brilliant assemblage of the officers of his army 
and of the Hungarian nobles. 

The last discomfiture and retreat of Solyman encouraged 
Ferdinand to redoubled exertions to reconquer Hungary from 
the combined forces of the Turks and his Transylvanian rival. 
Several years passed away in desultory, indecisive warfare, 
while John held his throne as tributary king to the sultan. 
At last Ferdinand, finding that he could not resist their united 
strength, and John becoming annoyed by the exactions of his 
Turkish master, they agreed to a compromise, by which John, 
w T ho was aged, childless and infirm, was to remain king of all 



152 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

that part of Hungary which he held until he died ; and the 
whole kingdom was then to revert to Ferdinand and his heirs* 
But it was agreed that should John marry and have a son, that 
son should be viceroy, or, as the title then was, univode, of his 
father's hereditary domain of Transylvania, having no control 
over any portion of Hungary proper. 

Somewhat to the disappointment of Ferdinand, the old 
monarch immediately married a young bride. A son was 
born to them, and in fourteen days after his birth the father 
died of a stroke of apoplexy. The child was entitled to the 
viceroyship of Transylvania, while all the rest of Hungary was 
to pass unincumbered to Ferdinand. But Isabella, the ambi- 
tious young mother, who had married the decrepit monarch 
that she might enjoy wealth and station, had no intention that 
her babe should be less of a king than his father was. She 
was the daughter of Sigismond, King of Poland, and relying 
upon the support of her regal father she claimed the crown of 
Hungary for her boy, in defiance of the solemn compact. In 
that age of chivalry a young and beautiful woman could eas- 
ily find defenders whatever might be her claims. Isabella soon 
rallied around her banner many Hungarian nobles, and a large 
number of adventurous knights from Poland. 

Under her influence a large party of nobles met, chose the 
babe their king, and crowned him, under the name of Stephen, 
with a great display of military and religious pomp. They 
then conveyed him and his mother to the strong castle of 
Buda and dispatched an embassy to the sultan at Constanti- 
nople, avowing homage to him, as their feudal lord, and im- 
ploring his immediate and vigorous support. 

Ferdinand, thus defrauded, and conscious of his inability to 
rescue the crown from the united forces of the Hungarian 
partisans of Stephen, and from the Turks, condescended also to 
send a message to the sultan, offering to hold the crown as his 
fief and to pay to the Porte the same tribute which John had 
paid, if the sultan would support his claim. The imperious 



FERDINAND I. — HIS WARS AND INTRIGUES. 153 

Turk, knowing that he could depose the baby king at his pleas- 
ure, insultingly rejected the proposals which Ferdinand had 
humiliated himself in advancing. He returned in answer, that 
he demanded, as the price of peace, not only that Ferdinand 
should renounce all claim whatever to the crown of Hungary, 
but that he should also acknowledge the Austrian territories 
as under vassalage to the Turkish empire, and pay tribute ac- 
cordingly. 

Ferdinand, at the same time that he sent his embassy to 
Constantinople, without waiting for a reply dispatched an army 
into Hungary, which reached Buda and besieged Isabella and 
her son in the citadel. 

He pressed the siege with such vigor that Isabella must 
have surrendered had not an army of Turks come to her res- 
cue. The Austrian troops were defeated and dispersed. The 
sultan himself soon followed with a still larger army, took pos- 
session of the city, secured the person of the queen and the 
infant prince, and placed a garrison often thousand janissaries 
in the citadel. The Turkish troops spread in all directions, 
establishing themselves in towns, castles, fortresses, and set- 
ting at defiance all Ferdinand's efforts to dislodge them. These 
events occurred during the reign of the Emperor Charles V. 
The resources of Ferdinand had become so exhausted that he 
was compelled, while affairs were in this state, in the year 
1545, ten years before the abdication of the emperor, to im- 
plore of Solyman a suspension of arms. 

The haughty sultan reluctantly consented to a truce of 
five years upon condition that Ferdinand would pay him an 
annual tribute of about sixty thousand dollars, and become 
feudatory of the Porte. To these humiliating conditions Fer- 
dinand felt compelled to assent. Solyman, thus relieved from 
any trouble on the part of Ferdinand, compelled the queen to 
renounce to himself all right which either she or her son had 
to the throne. And now for many years we have nothing but 
a weary record of intrigues, assassinations, wars and woes. 

1* 



154 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

Miserable Hungary was but a field of blood. There were 
three parties, Ferdinand, Stephen and Solyman, all alike ready 
to be guilty of any inhumanity or to perpetrate any perfidy in 
the accomplishment of their plans. Ferdinand with his armies 
held one portion of Hungary, Solyman another, and Stephen, 
with his strong partisans another. Bombardment succeeded 
bombardment ; cities and provinces were now overrun by one 
set of troops and now by another ; the billows of war surged 
to and fro incessantly, and the wail of the widow and the cry 
of the orphan ascended by day and by night to the ear of 
God. 

In 1556 the Turks again invested Stephen with the gov- 
ernment of that large portion of Hungary which they held, 
including Transylvania. Ferdinand still was in possession of 
several important fortresses, and of several of the western dis- 
tricts of Hungary bordering on the Austrian States. Isabella, 
annoyed by her subjection to the Turks, made propositions to 
Ferdinand for a reconciliation, and a truce was agreed upon 
which gave the land rest for a few years. 

While these storms were sweeping over Hungary, events 
of scarcely less importance were transpiring in Bohemia. This 
kingdom was an elective monarchy, and usually upon the death 
of a king the fiercest strife ensued as to who should be his suc- 
cessor. The elected monarch, on receiving the crown, was 
obliged to recognize the sovereignty of the people as having 
chosen him for their ruler, and he promised to govern accord- 
ing to the ancient constitution of the kingdom. The monarch, 
however, generally found no difficulty in surrounding himself 
with such strong supporters as to secure the election of his 
son or heir, and frequently he had his successor chosen before 
his death. Thus the monarchy, though nominally elective, was 
in its practical operation essentially hereditary. 

The authority of the crown was quite limited. The mon- 
arch was only intrusted with so much power as the proud 
nobles were willing to surrender to one of their number whom 



FERDINAND I. HIS WARS AND INTRIGUES. 155 

they appointed chief, whose superiority they reluctantly ac- 
knowledged, and against whom they were very frequently in- 
volved in wars. In those days the people had hardly a recog- 
nized existence. The nobles met in a congress call ad a diet, 
and authorized their elected chief, the king, to impose taxes, 
raise troops, declare war and institute laws according to their 
will. These diets were differently composed under different 
reigns, and privileged cities were sometimes authorized to send 
deputies whom they selected from the most illustrious of their 
citizens. The king usually convoked the diets ; but in those 
stormy times of feuds, conspiracies and wars, there was hardly 
any general rule. The nobles, displeased at some act of the 
king, would themselves, through some one or more of their 
number, summon a diet and organize resistance. The num- 
bers attending such an irregular body were of course very va- 
rious. There appear to have been diets of the empire com- 
posed of not more than half a dozen individuals, and others 
where as many hundreds were assembled. Sometimes the 
meetings were peaceful, and again tumultuous with the clash- 
ing of arms. 

In Bohemia the conflict between the Catholics and the re- 
formers had raged with peculiar acrimony, and the reformers 
in that kingdom had become a very numerous and influential 
body. Ferdinand was anxious to check the progress of the 
Reformation, and he exerted all the power he could command 
to defend and maintain Catholic supremacy. For ten years 
Ferdinand was absent from Bohemia, all his energies being 
absorbed by the Hungarian war. He was anxious to weaken 
the power of the nobles in Bohemia. There was ever, in those 
days, either an open or a smothered conflict between the king 
and the nobles, the monarch striving to grasp more power, 
the nobles striving to keep.him in subjection to them. Ferdi- 
nand attempted to disarm the nobles by sending for all the 
artillery of the kingdom, professing that he needed it to carry 
on his war with the Turks. But the wary nobles held on to 



156 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

their artillery. He then was guilty of the folly of hunting up 
some old exploded compacts, in virtue of which he declared 
that Bohemia was not an elective but a hereditary monarchy, 
and that he, as hereditary sovereign, held the throne for him- 
self and his heirs. 

This announcement spread a flame of indignation through 
all the castles of Bohemia. The nobles rallied, called a diet, 
passed strong resolutions, organized an army, and adopted 
measures for vigorous resistance. But Ferdinand was pre- 
pared for all these demonstrations. His Hungarian truce en- 
abled him to march a strong army on Bohemia. The party 
in power has always numerous supporters from those who, 
being in office, will lose their dignities by revolution. The 
king summoned all the well affected to repair to his standards, 
threatening condign punishment to all who did not give this 
proof of loyalty. Nobles and knights in great numbers flocked 
to his encampment. With menacing steps his battalions strode 
on, and triunq^hantly entered Prague, the capital city, situated 
in the very heart of the kingdom. 

The indignation in the city was great, but the king was 
too strong to be resisted, and he speedily quelled all move- 
ments of tumult. Prague, situated upon the steep and craggy 
banks of the Moldau, spanning the stream, and with its antique 
dwellings rising tier above tier upon the heights, is one of the 
most grand and imposing capitals of Europe. About one 
hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants crowd its narrow 
streets and massive edifices. Castles, fortresses, somber con- 
vents and the Gothic palaces of the old Bohemian monarchs, 
occupying every picturesque locality, as gray with age as the 
eternal crags upon which they stand, and exhibiting every fan- 
tastic variety of architecture, present an almost unrivaled as- 
pect of beauty and of grandeur. The Palace on the Hill alone 
is larger than the imperial palace at Vienna, containing over 
four hundred apartments, some of them being rooms of mag- 
nificent dimensions. The cathedral within the precincts of this 



FERDINAND I. HIS WARS AND INTRIGUES. 157 

palace occupied more than one hundred and fifty years in its 
erection. 

Ferdinand, with the iron energy and determined will of an 
enraged, successful despot, stationed his troops at the gates, 
the bridges and at every commanding position, and thus took 
military possession of the city. The inhabitants, overawed and 
helpless, were in a state of terror. The emperor summoned 
six hundred of the most influential of the citizens to his pal- 
ace, including all who possessed rank or office or wealth. 
Tremblingly they came. As soon as they had entered, the 
gates were closed and guarded, and they were all made pris- 
oners. The king then, seated upon his throne, in his royal 
robes, and with his armed officers around him, ordered the 
captives like culprits to be led before him. Sternly he charged 
them with treason, and demanded what excuse they had to 
offer. They were powerless, and their only hope was in self- 
abasement. One, speaking in the name of the rest, said : 

" We will not presume to enter into any defense of our 
conduct with our king and master. We cast ourselves upon 
his royal mercy." 

They then all simultaneously threw themselves upon their 
knees, imploring his pardon. The king allowed them to re- 
main for some time in that posture, that he might enjoy their 
humiliation. He then ordered his officers to conduct them 
into the hall of justice, and detain them there until he had 
decided respecting their punishment. For some hours they 
were kept in this state of suspense. He then informed them, 
that out of his great clemency he had decided to pardon them 
on the following conditions. 

They were to surrender all their constitutional privileges, 
whatever they were, into the hands of the king, and be satis- 
fied with whatever privileges he might condescend to confer 
upon them. They were to bring all their artillery, muskets 
and ammunition to the palace, and surrender them to his 
officers ; all the revenues of the city, together with a tax upon 



158 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

malt and beer, were to be paid into his hands for his disposal, 
and all their vassals, and their property of every kind, they 
were to resign to the king and to his heirs, whom they were 
to acknowledge as the hereditary successors to the throne of 
Bohemia. Upon these conditions the king promised to spare 
the rebellious city, and to pardon all the offenders, excepting 
a few of the most prominent, whom he was determined to 
punish with such severity as to prove an effectual warning to 
all others. 

The prisoners were terrified into the immediate ratification 
of these hard terms. They were then all released, excepting 
forty, who were reserved for more rigorous punishment. In 
the same manner the king sent a summons to all the towns 
of the kingdom ; and by the same terrors the same terms were 
extorted. All the rural nobles, who had manifested a spirit 
of resistance, were also summoned before a court of justice for 
trial. Some fled the kingdom. Their estates were confis- 
cated to Ferdinand, and they were sentenced to death should 
they ever return. Many others were deprived of their pos- 
sessions. Twenty-six were thrown into prison, and two con- 
demned to public execution. 

The king, having thus struck all the discontented with terror, 
summoned a diet to meet in his palace at Prague. They met 
the 2 2d of August, 1547. A vast assemblage was convened, 
as no one who was summoned dared to stay away. The king, 
wishing to give an intimation to the diet of what they were 
to expect should they oppose his wishes, commenced the ses- 
sion by publicly hanging four of the most illustrious of his 
captives. One of these, high judge of the kingdom, was in 
the seventieth year of his age. The Bloody Diet, as it has 
since been called, was opened, and Ferdinand found all as 
pliant as he could wish. The royal discipline had effected 
wonders. The slightest intimation of Ferdinand was accepted 
with eagerness. 

The execrable tyrant wished to impress the whole king- 



FEED1NAND I. — HIS WARS AND INTRIGUES. 159 

dom with a salutary dread of incurring his paternal displea- 
sure. He brought out the forty prisoners who still remained 
in their dungeons. Eight of the most distinguished men of 
the kingdom were led to three of the principal cities, in each 
of which, in the public square, they were ignominiously and 
cruelly whipped on the bare back. Before each flagellation 
the executioner proclaimed — 

" These men are punished because they are traitors, and 
because they excited the people against their hereditary 
master." 

They then, with eight others, their property being confis- 
cated, in utter beggary, were driven as vagabonds from the 
kingdom. The rest, after being impoverished by fines, were 
restored to liberty. Ferdinand adopted vigorous measures 
to establish his despotic power. Considering the Protestant 
religion as peculiarly hostile to despotism, in the encourage- 
ment it afforded to education, to the elevation of the masses, 
and to the diffusion of those principles of fraternal equality 
which Christ enjoined ; and considering the Catholic religion 
as the great bulwark of kingly power, by the intolerance of 
the Church teaching the benighted multitudes subjection to 
civil intolerance, Ferdinand, with unceasing vigilance, and 
with melancholy success, endeavored to eradicate the Lu- 
theran doctrines from the kingdom. He established the most 
rigorous censorship of the press, and would allow no foreign 
work, unexamined, to enter the realm. He established in 
Bohemia the fanatic order of the Jesuits, and intrusted to 
them the education of the young. 

It is often impossible to reconcile the inconsistencies of the 
human heart. Ferdinand, while guilty of such atrocities, af- 
fected, on some points, the most scrupulous punctilios of honor. 
The clearly-defined privileges which had been promised the 
Protestants, he would not infringe in the least. They were 
permitted to give their children Protestant teachers, and to 
conuuct worship in their own way. He effected his object of 



160 THE HOUSE OF ATJSTKIA. 

changing Bohemia from an elective to a hereditary monarchy, 
and thus there was established in Bohemia the renowned doc- 
trine of regal legitimacy ; of the divine right of kings to gov- 
ern. With such a bloody hand was the doctrine of the sov- 
ereignty, not of the people, but of the nobles^ overthrown in 
Bohemia. The nobles are not much to be commiserated, for 
they trampled upon the people as mercilessly as the king did 
upon them. It is merely another illustration of the old and 
melancholy story of the strong devouring the weak : the owl 
takes the wren ; the eagle the owl. 

Bohemia, thus brought in subjection to a single mind, and 
shackled in its spirit Of free enterprise, began rapidly to ex- 
hibit symptoms of decline and decay. It was a great revo- 
lution, accomplished by cunning and energy, and maintained 
by the terrors of confiscation, exile and death. 

The Emperor Charles V., it will be remembered, had at- 
tempted in vain to obtain the reversion of the imperial crown 
for his son Philip at his own death. The crown of Spain was 
his hereditary possession, and that he could transmit to his 
son. But the crown of the empire was elective. Charles V. 
was so anxious to secure the imperial dignity for his son, that 
he retained the crown of the empire for some months after 
abdicating that of Spain, still hoping to influence the elect- 
ors in their choice. But there were so many obstacles in the 
way of the recognition of the young Philip as emperor, that 
Charles, anxious to retain the dignity in the family, reluctantly 
yielded to the intrigues of his brother Ferdinand, who had 
now become so powerful that he could perhaps triumph over 
any little irregularity in the succession and silence murmurs. 

Consequently, Charles, nine months after the abdication 
of the thrones of the Low Countries and of Spain, tried the 
experiment of abdicating the elective crown of the empire in 
favor of Ferdinand. It was in many respects such an act as 
if the President of the United States should abdicate in fay or 
of some one of his own choice. The emperor had, however, 



FERDINAND I. — HIS WARS AND INTRIGUES. 161 

a semblance of right to place the scepter in the hands of 
whom he would during his lifetime. But, upon the death 
of the emperor, would his appointee still hold his power, or 
would the crown at that moment be considered as falling from 
his brow? It was the 7th of August, 1556, when the emperor 
abdicated the throne of the empire in behalf of his brother 
Ferdinand. It was a new event in history, without a pre- 
cedent, and the matter was long and earnestly discussed 
throughout the German States. Notwithstanding all Fer- 
dinand's energy, sagacity and despotic power, two years 
elapsed before he could secure the acknowledgment of his 
title, by the German States, and obtain a proclamation of his 
imperial state. 

The pope had thus far had such an amazing control over 
the conscience, or rather the superstition of Europe, that the 
choice of the electors was ever subject to the ratification of 
the holy father. It was necessary for the emperor elect to 
journey to Rome, and be personally crowned by the hands 
of the pope, before he could be considered in legal possession 
of the imperial title and of a right to the occupancy of the 
throne. Julius II., under peculiar circumstances, allowed Max- 
imilian to assume the title of emperor elect while he postponed 
his visit to Rome for coronation ; but the want of the papal 
sanction, by the imjwsition of the crown upon his brow by 
those sacred hands, thwarted Maximilian in some of his most 
fondly-cherished measures. 

Paul IV. was now pontiff, an old man, jealous of his pre- 
rogatives, intolerant in the extreme, and cherishing the most 
exorbitant sense of his spiritual power. He execrated the 
Protestants, and was indignant with Ferdinand that he had 
shown them any mercy at all. But Ferdinand, conscious of 
the importance of a papal coronation, sent a very obsequious 
embassy to Rome, announcing his appointment as emperor, 
and imploring the benediction of the holy father and the re- 
ception of the crown from his hands. The haughty and dis- 



162 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

dainful reply of the pope was characteristic of the times and 
of the man. It was in brief, as follows : 

" The Emperor Charles has behaved like a madman ; and 
his acts are no more to be respected than the ravings of insan- 
ity. Charles V. received the imperial crown from the head of 
the Church ; in abdicating, that crown could only return to the 
sacred hands which conferred it. The nomination of Ferdi- 
nand as his successor we pronounce to be null and void. The 
alleged ratification of the electors is a mockery, dishonored 
and vitiated as it is by the votes of electors polluted with 
heresy. We therefore command Ferdinand to relinquish all 
claim to the imperial crown." 

The irascible old pontiff, buried beneath the senseless 
pomps of the Vatican, was not at all aware of the change 
which Protestant preaching and writing had effected in the 
public mind of Germany. Italy was still slumbering in the 
gloom of the dark ages ; but light was beginning to dawn upon 
the hills of the empire. One half of the population of the 
German empire would rally only the more enthusiastically 
around Ferdinand, if he would repel all papal assumptions with 
defiance and contempt. Ferdinand was the wiser and the bet- 
ter informed man of the two. He conducted with dignity 
and firmness which make us almost forget his crimes. A diet 
was summoned, and it was quietly decreed that a papal coro- 
nation was no longer necessary. That one short line was the 
heaviest blow the papal throne had yet received. From it, it 
never recovered and never can recover. 

Paul IV. was astounded at such effrontery, and as soon as 
he had recovered a little from his astonishment, alarmed in 
view of such a declaration of independence, he took counsel of 
discretion, and humiliating as it was, made advances for a rec- 
onciliation. Ferdinand was also anxious to be on good terms 
with the pope. While negotiations were pending, Paul died, 
his death being perhaps hastened by chagrin. Pius IV. suc- 
ceeded him, and pressed still more earnestly overtures for rec- 



FERDINAND I. — HIS WARS AND INTRIGUES. 163 

onciliation. Ferdinand, through his ambassador, expressed 
his willingness to pledge the accustomed devotion and rever- 
ence to the head of the Church, omitting the word obedience. 
But the pope was anxious, above all things, to have that em- 
phatic word obey introduced into the ritual of subjection, and 
after employing all the arts of diplomacy and cajolery, carried 
his point. Ferdinand, with duplicity which was not honora- 
ble, let the word remain, saying that it was not his act, but 
that of his ambassador. The pope affected satisfaction with 
the formal acknowledgment of his power, while Ferdinand 
ever after refused to recognize his authority. Thus terminated 
the long dependence, running through ages of darkness and 
delusion, of the German emperors upon the Roman see. 

Ferdinand did not trouble himself to receive the crown 
from the pope, and since his day the emperors of Germany 
have no longer been exposed to the expense and the trouble 
of a journey to Rome for their coronation. Though Ferdinand 
was strongly attached to the tenets of the papal church, and 
would gladly have eradicated Protestantism from his domains, 
he was compelled to treat the Protestants with some degree 
of consideration, as he needed the aid of their arms in the 
wars in which he was incessantly involved with the Turks. 
He even made great efforts to introduce some measure of con- 
ciliation which should reconcile the two parties, and thus re- 
unite his realms under one system of doctrine and of worship. 

Still Protestantism was making rapid strides all over Eu- 
ro])e. It had become the dominant religion in Denmark and 
Sweden, and, by the accession of Elizabeth to the throne of 
England, was firmly established in that important kingdom. 
In France also the reformed religion had made extensive in- 
roads, gathering to its defense many of the noblest spirits, in 
rank and intellect, in the realm. The terrors of the inquisition 
had thus far prevented the truth from making much progress 
in Spain and Portugal. 

With the idea of promoting reconciliation, Ferdinand 



164 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

adopted a measure which contributed greatly to his popular- 
ity with the Protestants. He united with France and Spain 
in urging Pius IV., a mild and pliant pontiff, to convene a 
council in Germany to heal the religious feud. He drew up a 
memorial, which was published and widely scattered, declar- 
ing that the Protestants had become far too powerful to be 
treated with outrage or contempt ; that there were undeniable 
wrongs in the Church which needed to be reformed ; and that 
no harm could accrue from permitting the clergy to marry, and 
to administer both bread and wine to the communicants in the 
Lord's Supper. It was a doctrine of the Church of Rome, 
that the laity could receive the bread only ; the wine was re- 
served for the officiating priest. 

This memorial of Ferdinand, drawn up with much distinct- 
ness and great force of argument, was very grateful to the 
Protestants, but very displeasing to the court of Rome. These 
conflicts raged for several years without any decisive results. 
The efforts of Ferdinand to please both parties, as usual, 
pleased neither. By the Protestants he was regarded as a 
persecutor and intolerant ; while the Catholics accused him of 
lukewarmness, of conniving at heresy and of dishonoring the 
Church by demanding of her concessions derogatory to her 
authority and her dignity. 

Ferdinand, finding that the Church clung with deathly 
tenacity to its corruptions, assumed himself quite the attitude 
of a reformer. A memorable council had been assembled at 
Trent on the 15th of January, 1562. Ferdinand urged the 
council to exhort the pope to examine if there was not room 
for some reform in his own person, state or court. " Because," 
said he, " the only true method to obtain authority for the 
reformation of others, is to begin by amending oneself." He 
commented upon the manifest impropriety of scandalous in- 
dulgences ; of selling the sacred offices of the Church to the 
highest bidder, regardless of character ; of extorting fees for 
the administration of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; of 



FERDINAND I. HIS WARS AND INTRIGUES. 165 

offering prayers and performing the services of public devo- 
tion in a language which the people could not understand ; and 
other similar and most palpable abuses. Even the kings ot 
France and Spain united with the emperor in these remon- 
strances. 

It is difficult now to conceive of the astonishment and in- 
dignation with which the pope and his adherents received 
these very reasonable suggestions, coming not from the Prot- 
estants but from the most staunch advocates of the papacy. 
The see of Rome, corrupt to its very core, would yield noth- 
ing. The more senseless and abominable any of its corrup- 
tions were, the more tenaciously did pope and cardinals cling 
to them. At last the emperor, in despair of seeing any thing 
accomplished, requested that the assembly might be dissolved, 
saying, " Nothing good can be expected, even if it continue 
its sittings for a hundred years." 



CHAPTER XI. 

DEATH OF FERDINAND I.— ACCESSION OF MAXIMILIAN H. 

From 1562 to 1576. 

The Council op Trent.— Spread of the Eeformation.— Ferdinand's Attempt to in- 
fluence the Pope. — His Arguments against Celibacy. — Stubbornness of the 
Pope.— Maximilian II.— Displeasure of Ferdinand. — Motives for not abjur- 
ing the Catholic Faith. — Keligious Strife in Europe. — Maximilian's Address 
to Charles IX.— Mutual Toleration. — Komantio Pastime of War.— Heroism 
of Nicholas, Count of Zrini. — Accession of Power to Austria. — Accession of 
Ehodolph III. — Death of Maximilian. 

rjlHIS celebrated council of Trent, which was called with the 
-*~ hope that by a spirit of concession and reform the relig- 
ions dissensions which agitated Europe might be adjusted, de- 
clared, in the very bravado of papal intolerance, the very worst 
abuses of the Church to be essential articles of faith, which 
could only be renounced at the peril of eternal condemnation, 
and thus presented an insuperable barrier to any reconciliation 
between the Catholics and the Protestants. Ferdinand was 
disappointed, and yet did not venture to break with the pope by 
withholding his assent from the decrees which were enacted. 

The Lutheran doctrines had spread widely through Ferdi- 
nand's hereditary States of Austria. Several of the professors 
in the university at Vienna had embraced those views ; and 
quite a number of the most powerful and opulent of the terri- 
torial lords even maintained Protestant chaplains at their cas- 
tles. The majority of the inhabitants of the Austrian States 
had, in the course of a few years, become Protestants. Though 
Ferdinand did every thing he dared to do to check their prog- 

3, forbidding the circulation of Luther's translation of the 



DEATH OF FERDINAND I. 167 

Bible, and throwing all the obstacles he could in the way of 
Protestant worship, he was compelled to grant them very con- 
siderable toleration, and to overlook the infraction of his de- 
crees, that he might secure their aid to repel the Turks. 
Providence seemed to overrule the Moslem invasion for the 
protection of the Protestant faith. Notwithstanding all the 
efforts of Ferdinand, the reformers gained ground in Austria 
as in other parts of Germany. 

The two articles upon which the Protestants at this time 
placed most stress were the right of the clergy to marry and 
the administration of the communion under both kinds, as it 
was called ; that is, that the communicants should partake of 
both the bread and the wine. Ferdinand, having failed en- 
tirely in inducing the council to submit to any reform, opened 
direct communication with the pope to obtain for his subjects 
indulgence in respect to these two articles. In advocacy of 
this measure he wrote : 

a In Bohemia no persuasion, no argument, no violence, not 
even armband war, have succeeded in abolishing the use of 
the cup as well as the bread in the sacrament. In fact the 
Church itself permitted it, although the popes revoked it by a 
breach of the conditions on which it was granted. In the 
other States, Hungary, Austria, Silesia, Styria, Carinthia, Car- 
niola, Bavaria and other parts of Germany, many desire with 
ardor the same indulgence. If this concession is granted they 
may be reunited to the Church, but if refused they will be 
driven into the party of the Protestants. So many of the 
priests have been degraded by their diocesans for administer 
ing the sacrament in both kinds, that the country is almost 
deprived of priests. Hence children die or grow up to matu- 
rity without baptism ; and men and women, of all ages and of 
all ranks, live like the brutes, in the grossest ignorance of God 
and of religion." 

In reference to the marriage of the clergy he wrote : " If 
a permission to the clergy to marry can not be granted, may 



168 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

not married men of learning and probity be ordained, accord- 
ing to the custom of the eastern church ; or married priests 
be tolerated for a time, provided they act according to the 
Catholic and Christian faith ? And it may be justly asked 
whether such concessions would not be far preferable to tol- 
erating, as has unfortunately been done, fornication and con- 
cubinage ? I can not avoid adding, what is a common obser- 
vation, that priests who live in concubinage are guilty of 
greater sin than those who are married; for the last only 
transgress a law which is capable of being changed, whereas 
the first sin against a divine law, which is capable of neither 
change nor dispensation." 

The pope, pressed with all the importunity which Ferdi- 
nand could urge, reluctantly consented to the administration 
of the cup to the laity, but resolutely refused to tolerate the 
marriage of the clergy. Ferdinand was excessively annoyed 
by the stubbornness of the court of Rome in its refusal to 
submit to the most reasonable reform, thus rendering it impos- 
sible for him to allay the religious dissensions which were still 
spreading and increasing in acrimony. His disaj)pointment 
was so great that it is said to have thrown him into the fever 
of which he died on the 25th of July, 1564. 

For several ages the archdukes of Austria had been en- 
deavoring to unite the Austrian States with Hungary and Bo- 
hemia under one monarchy. The union had been temporarily 
effected once or twice, but Ferdinand accomplished the per- 
manent union, and may thus be considered as the founder of 
the Austrian monarchy essentially as it now exists. As Arch- 
duke of Austria, he inherited the Austrian duchies. By his 
marriage with Anne, daughter of Ladislaus, King of Hungary 
and Bohemia, he secured those crowns, which he made hered- 
itary in his family. He left three sons. The eldest, Maxi- 
milian, inherited the archduchy of Austria and the crowns of 
Bohemia and Hungary, of course inheriting, with Hungary, 
prospective war with the Turks. The second son, Ferdinand, 



ACCESSION OF MAXIMILIAN II. 169 

had, as his legacy, the government and the revenues of the 
Tyrol. The third son, Charles, received Styria. There were 
nine daughters left, three of whom took the vail and the rest 
formed illustrious marriages. 

Ferdinand appears to have been a sincere Catholic, though 
he saw the great corruptions of the Church and earnestly de- 
sired reform. As he advanced in years he became more toler- 
ant and gentle, and had his wise counsels been pursued Eu- 
rope would have escaped inexpressible woes. Still he clung to 
the Church, unwisely seeking unity of faith and discipline, 
which can hardly be attained in this world, rather than tolera- 
tion with allowed diversity. 

Maximilian II. was thirty-seven years of age on his acces- 
sion to the throne. Although he was educated in the court, 
of Spain, which was the most bigoted and intolerant in Europe, 
yet he developed a character remarkable for mildness, affabil 
ity and tolerance. He was indebted for these attractive traits 
to his tutor, a man of enlarged and cultivated mind, and who 
had, like most men of his character at that time, a strong lean- 
ing towards Protestantism. These principles took so firm a 
hold of his youthful mind that they could never be eradicated. 
As he advanced in life he became more and more interested 
in the Protestant faith. He received a clergyman of the re- 
formed religion as his chaplain and private secretary, and par- 
took of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, from his hands, 
in both kinds. Even while remaining in the Spanish court 
he entered into a correspondence with several of the most in- 
fluential advocates of the Protestant faith. Returning to Aus- 
tria from Spain, he attended public worship in the chapels of 
the Protestants, and communed with them in the sacrament of 
the Lord's Supper. When some *of his friends warned him 
that by pursuing such a course he could never hope to obtain 
the imperial crown of Germany, he replied : 

" I will sacrifice all worldly interests for the sake of my 
salvation." 

8 



170 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

His father, the Emperor Ferdinand, was so much displeased 
wita his son's advocacy of the Protestant faith, that after many 
angry remonstrances he threatened to disinherit him if he did 
not renounce all connection with the reformers. But Maxi- 
milian, true to his conscience, would not allow the apprehension 
of the loss of a crown to induce him to swerve from his faith. 
Fully expecting to be thus cast off and banished from the 
kingdom, he wrote to the Protestant elector Palatine : 

" I have so deeply offended my father by maintaining a 
Lutheran preacher in my service, that I am apprehensive of 
being expelled as a fugitive, and hope to find an asylum in 
your court." 

The Catholics of course looked with apprehension to the 
accession of Maximilian to the throne, while the Protestants 
anticipated the event with great hope. There were, however, 
many considerations of vast moment influencing Maximilian not 
to separate himself, in form, from the Catholic church. Philip, 
his cousin, King of Spain, was childless, and should he die with- 
out issue, Ferdinand would inherit that magnificent throne, 
which he could not hope to ascend, as an avowed Protestant, 
without a long and bloody war. It had been the most ear- 
nest dying injunction of his father that he should not abjure 
the Catholic faith. His wife was a very zealous Catholic, as 
was also each one of his brothers. There were very many 
who remained in the Catholic church whose sympathies were 
with the reformers — who hoped to promote reformation in 
the Church without leaving it. Influenced by such consider- 
ations, Maximilian made a public confession of the Catholic 
faith, received his father's confessor, and maintained, in his 
court, the usages of the papal church. He was, however, the 
kind friend of the Protestants, ever seeking to shield them 
from persecution, claiming for them a liberal toleration, and 
seeking, in all ways, to promote fraternal religious feeling 
throughout his domains. 

The prudence of Maximilian wonderfully allayed the bit- 



ACCESSION OF MAXIMILIAN II. lYl 

terness of religious strife in Germany, while other portions of 
Europe were desolated with the fiercest warfare between the 
Catholics and Protestants. In France, in particular, the con- 
flict raged with merciless fury. It was on August 24th, 1572, 
but a few years after Maximilian ascended the throne, when 
the Catholics of France perpetrated the Massacre of St. Bar- 
tholomew, perhaps the most atrocious crime recorded in his- 
tory. The Catholics and Protestants in France were nearly 
equally divided in numbers, wealth and rank. The papal 
party, finding it impossible to crush their foes by force of 
arms, resolved to exterminate them by a simultaneous mas- 
sacre. They feigned toleration and reconciliation. The court 
of Paris invited all the leading Protestants of the kingdom to 
the metropolis to celebrate the nuptials of Henry, the young 
King of Navarre, with Margaret, sister of Charles IX., the 
reigning monarch. Secret orders were dispatched all over 
the kingdom, for the conspirators, secretly armed, at a given 
signal, by midnight, to rise upon the Protestants, men, 
women and children, and utterly exterminate them. " Let 
not one remain alive," said the King of France, " to tell the 
story." 

The deed was nearly accomplished. The king himself, 
from a window of the Louvre, fired upon his Protestant 
subjects, as they fled in dismay through the streets. In a 
few hours eighty thousand of the Protestants were mangled 
corpses. Protestantism in France has never recovered from 
this blow. Maximilian openly expressed his execration of 
this deed, though the pope ordered Te Deums to be chanted 
at Rome in exultation over the crime. Not long after this 
horrible slaughter, Charles IX. died in mental torment. Henry 
of Yalois, brother of the deceased king, succeeded to the 
throne. He was at that time King of Poland. Returning to 
France, through Vienna, he had an interview with Maximil- 
ian, who addressed him in those memorable words which have 
often been quoted to the honor of the Austrian sovereign : 



172 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

" There is no crime greater in princes," said Maximilian, 
"than to tyrannize over the consciences of their subjects. By 
shedding the blood of heretics, far from honoring the common 
Father of all, they incur the divine vengeance ; and while 
they aspire, by such means, to crowns in heaven, they justly 
expose themselves to the loss of their earthly kingdoms." 

Under the peaceful and humane reign of Ferdinand, Ger- 
many was kept in a general state of tranquillity, while storms 
of war and woe were sweeping over almost all other parts of 
Europe. During all his reign, Maximilian II. was unwearied 
in his endeavors to promote harmony between the two great 
religious parties, by trying, on the one hand, to induce the 
pope to make reasonable concessions, and, on the other hand, 
to induce the Protestants to moderate their demands. His 
first great endeavor was to induce the pope to consent to the 
marriage of the clergy. In this he failed entirely. He then 
tried to form a basis of mutual agreement, upon which the 
two parties could unite. His father had attempted this plan, 
and found it utterly impracticable. Maximilian attempted it, 
with just as little success. It has been attempted a thousand 
times since, and has always failed. Good men are ever rising 
who mourn the divisions in the Christian Church, and strive 
to form some plan of union, where all true Christians can meet 
and fraternize, and forget their minor differences. Alas ! for 
poor human nature, there is but little prospect that this plan 
can ever be accomplished. There will be always those who 
can not discriminate between essential and non-essential dif- 
ferences of opinion. Maximilian at last fell back simply upon 
the doctrine of a liberal toleration, and in maintaining this he 
was eminently successful. 

At one time the Turks were crowding him very hard in 
Hungary. A special effort was requisite to raise troops to 
repel them. Maximilian summoned a diet, and appealed to 
the assembled nobles for supplies of men and money. In 
Austria proper, Protestantism was now in the decided ascend- 



ACCESSION OP MAXIMILIAN II. 1^3 

ency. The nobles took advantage of the emperor's wants to 
reply — 

" We are ready to march to the assistance of our sov- 
ereign, to repel the Turks from Hungary, if the Jesuits are 
first expelled from our territories." 

The answer of the king was characteristic of his policy and 
of his career. " I have convened you," he said, " to give me 
contributions, not remonstrances. I wish you to help me 
expel the Turks, not the Jesuits." 

From many a prince this reply would have excited exas- 
peration. But Maximilian had established such a character 
for impartiality and probity, that the rebuke was received 
with applause rather than with murmurs, and the Protestants, 
with affectionate zeal, rallied around his standard. So great 
was the influence of the king, that toleration, as one of the 
virtues of the court, became the fashion, and the Catholics 
and Protestants vied with each other in the manifestation of 
mutual forbearance and good will. They met on equal terms 
in the palace of the monarch, shared alike in his confidence 
and his favors, and cooperated cordially in the festivities of 
the banqueting room, and in the toils of the camp. We 
love to dwell upon the first beautiful specimen of toleration 
which the world has seen in any court. It is the more beau- 
tiful, and the more wonderful, as having occurred in a dark 
age of bigotry, intolerance and persecution. And let us be 
sufficiently candid to confess, that it was professedly a Roman 
Catholic monarch, a member of the papal church, to whom 
the world is indebted for this first recognition of true mental 
freedom. It can not be denied that Maximilian II. was in 
advance of the avowed Protestants of his day. 

Pope Pius V. was a bigot, inflexible, overbearing ; and he 
determined, with a bloody hand, to crush all dissent. From 
his throne in the Vatican he cast an eagle eye to Germany, 
and was alarmed and indignant at the innovations which Max- 
imilian was permitting. In all haste he dispatched a legate 



174 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

to remonstrate strongly against such liberality. Maximilian 
received the legate, Cardinal Commendon, with courtesy, but 
for a time firmly refused to change his policy in obedience to 
the exactions of the pope. The pope brought to bear upon 
him all the influence of the Spanish court. He was threat- 
ened with war by all the papal forces, sustained by the then 
immense power of the Spanish monarchy. For a time Max- 
imilian was in great perplexity, and finally yielded to the pope 
so far as to promise not to permit any further innovations 
than those which he had already allowed, and not to extend 
his principles of toleration into any of his States where they 
had not as yet been introduced. Thus, while he did not re- 
tract any concessions he had made, he promised to stop where 
he was, and proceed no further. 

Maximilian was so deeply impressed with the calamities of 
war, that he even sent an embassy to the Turks, offering to 
continue to pay the tribute which they had exacted of his 
father, as the price of a continued armistice. But Solyman, 
having made large preparations for the renewed invasion of 
Hungary, and sanguine of success, haughtily rejected the offer, 
and renewed hostilities. 

Nearly allof the eastern and southern portions of Hungary 
were already in the hands of the Turks. Maximilian held a 
few important towns and strong fortresses on the western fron- 
tier. Not feeling strong enough to attempt to repel the Turks 
from the portion they already held, he strengthened his garri- 
sons, and raising an army of eighty thousand men, of which 
he assumed the command, he entered Hungary and marched 
down the Danube about sixty miles to Raab, to await the foe 
and act on the defensive. Solyman rendezvoused an immense 
army at Belgrade, and commenced his march up the Danube. 

" Old as I am," said he to his troops, " I am determined 
to chastise the house of Austria, or to perish in the attempt 
beneath the walls of Vienna." 

It was beautiful spring weather, and the swelling buds and 



ACCESSION OP MAXIMILIAN II. 175 

hourly increasing verdure, decorated the fields with loveliness. 
For several days the Turks marched along the right bank of 
the Danube, through green fields, and beneath a sunny sky, 
encountering no foe. War seemed but as the pastime of a 
festive day, as gay banners floated in the breeze, groups of 
horsemen, gorgeously caparisoned, pranced along, and the tur- 
baned multitude, in brilliant uniform, with jokes, and laugh- 
ter and songs, leisurely ascended the majestic stream. A fleet 
of boats filled the whole body of the river, impelled by sails 
when the wind favored, or, when the winds were adverse, 
driven by the strong arms of the rowers against the gentle 
tide. Each night the white tents were spread, and a city for 
a hundred thousand inhabitants rose as by magic, with its 
grassy streets, its squares, its busy population, its music, its 
splendor, blazing in all the regalia of war. As by magic the 
city rose in the rays of the declining sun. As by magic it dis- 
appeared in the early dawn of the morning, and the mighty 
hosts moved on. 

A few days thus passed, when Solyman approached the for- 
tified town of Zigeth, near the confluence of the Drave and the 
Danube. Nicholas, Count of Zrini, was intrusted with the 
defense of this place, and he fulfilled his trust with heroism 
and valor which has immortalized both his name and the for- 
tress which he defended. Zrini had a garrison of but three 
thousand men. An army of nearly a hundred thousand were 
marching upon him. Zrini collected his troops, and took a 
solemn oath, in the presence of all, that, true to God, to his 
Christian faith, and his country, he never would surrender the 
town to the Turks, but with his life. He then required each 
soldier individually to take the same oath to his captain. All 
the captains then, in the presence of the assembled troops, 
took the same oath to him. 

The Turks soon arrived and commenced an unceasing bom- 
bardment day and night. The little garrison vigorously re- 
sponded. The besieged made frequent sallies, spiking the guns 



176 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

of the besiegers, and again retiring behind their works. But 
their overpowering foes advanced, inch by inch, till they got 
possession of what was called the " old city." The besieged 
retiring to the " new city," resumed the defense with unabated 
ardor. The storm of war raged incessantly for many days, 
and the new city was reduced to a smoldering heap of fire 
and ashes. The Turks, with incredible labor, raised immense 
mounds of earth and stone, on the summits of which they 
planted their batteries, where they could throw their shot, 
with unobstructed aim, into every part of the city. Roads 
were constructed across the marsh, and the swarming multi- 
tudes, in defiance of all the efforts of the heroic little garri- 
son, filled up the ditch, and were just on the rush to take the 
place by a general assault, when Zrini abandoned the new city 
to flames, and threw himself into the citadel. His force was 
now reduced to about a thousand men. Day after day the 
storm of war blazed with demoniac fury around the citadel. 
Mines were dug, and, as by volcanic explosions, bastions, with 
men and guns, were blown high into the air. The indomitable 
Hungarians made many sallies, cutting down the gunners and 
spiking the guns, but they were always driven back with heavy 
loss. Repeated demands for capitulation were sent in and as 
repeatedly rejected. For a week seven assaults were made 
daily upon the citadel by the Turks, but they were always re- 
pulsed. At length the outer citadel was entirely demolished. 
Then the heroic band retired to the inner works. They were 
now without ammunition or provisions, and the Turks, exas- 
perated by such a defense, were almost gnashing their teeth 
with rage. The old sultan, Solyman, actually died from the in- 
tensity of his vexation and wrath. The death of the sultan 
was concealed from the Turkish troops, and a general assault 
was arranged upon the inner works. The hour had now come 
when they must surrender or die, for the citadel was all bat- 
tered into a pile of smoldering ruins, and there were no ram- 
parts capable of checking the progress of the foe. Zrini as- 



ACCESSION OF MAXIMILIAN II. 177 

sembled his little band, now counting but six hundred, and 
said, 

" Remember your oath. We must die in the flames, or 
perish with hunger, or go forth to meet the foe. Let us die 
like men. Follow me, and do as I do." 

They made a simultaneous rush from their defenses into 
the thickest of the enemy. For a few moments there was a 
scene of wildest uproar and confusion, and the brave defend- 
ers were all silent in death. The Turks with shouts of triumph 
now rushed into the citadel. But Zrini had fired trains lead- 
ing to the subterranean vaults of powder, and when the ruins 
were covered with the conquerors, a sullen roar ran beneath 
the ground and the whole citadel, men, horses, rocks and ar- 
tillery were thrown into the air, and fell a commingled mass 
of ruin, fire and blood. A more heroic defense history has 
not recorded. Twenty thousand Turks perished in this siege. 
The body of Zrini was found in the midst of the mangled 
dead. His head was cut off and, affixed to a pole, was raised 
as a trophy before the tent of the deceased sultan. 

The death of Solyman, and the delay which this desperate 
siege had caused, embarrassed all the plans of the invaders, and 
they resolved upon a retreat. The troops were consequently 
withdrawn from Hungary, and returned to Constantinople. 

Maximilian, behind his intrenchments at Raab, did not 
dare to march to the succor of the beleaguered garrison, for 
overpowering numbers would immediately have destroyed 
him had he appeared in the open field. But upon the with- 
drawal of the Turks he disbanded his army, after having re- 
plenished his garrisons, and returned to Vienna. Selim suc- 
ceeded Solyman, and Maximilian sent an embassy to Constan- 
tinople to offer terms of peace. At the same time, to add 
weight to his negotiations, he collected a large army, and made 
the most vigorous preparations for the prosecution of the war. 

Selim, ju^t commencing his reign, anxious to consolidate 
his power, and embarrassed by insurrection in his own realms, 

8* 



178 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

•was giad to conclude an armistice on terms highly favorable 
to Maximilian. John Sigismond, who had been crowned by 
the Turks, as their tributary King of Hungary, was to retain 
Transylvania. The Turks were to hold the country generally 
between Transylvania and the river Teiss, while Ferdinand 
was to have the remainder, extending many hundred miles 
from the Teiss to Austria. The Prince of Transylvania was 
compelled, though very reluctantly, to assent to this treaty. 
He engaged not to assume the title of King of Hungary, ex- 
cept in correspondence with the Turks. The emperor prom- 
ised him one of his nieces in marriage, and in return it was 
agreed that should John Sigismond die without male issue, 
Transylvania should revert to the crown of Hungary. 

Soon after this treaty, John Sigismond died, before his 
marriage with the emperor's niece, and Transylvania was again 
united to Hungary and came under the sway of Maximilian. 
This event formed quite an accession to the power of the Aus- 
trian monarch, as he now held all of Hungary save the south- 
ern and central portion where the Turks had garrisoned the 
fortresses. The pope, the King of Spain, and the Venetians, 
now sent united ambassadors to the emperor urging him to 
summon the armies of the empire and drive the Turks entirely 
out of Hungary. Cardinal Comraendon assured the emperor, 
in the name of the holy father of the Church, that it was no 
sin to violate any compact with the infidel. Maximilian nobly 
replied, 

" The faith of treaties ought to be considered as invio- 
lable, and a Christian can never be justified in breaking an 
oath." 

Maximilian never enjoyed vigorous health, and being anx- 
ious to secure the tranquillity of his extended realms after his 
death, he had his eldest son, Rhodolph, in a diet at Presburg, 
crowned King of Hungary. Rhodolph at once entered upon 
the government of his realm as viceroy during the life of his 
father. Thus he would have all the reins of government in his 



ACCESSION OF MAXIMILIAN II. 179 

hands, and, at the death of the emperor, there would be no 
apparent change. 

It will be remembered that Ferdinand had, by violence 
and treachery, wrested from the Bohemians the privilege of 
electing their sovereign, and had thus converted Bohemia into 
an hereditary monarchy. Maximilian, with characteristic pru- 
dence, wished to maintain the hereditary right thus estab- 
lished, while at the same time he wished to avoid wounding 
the prejudices of those who had surrendered the right of suf- 
frage only to fraud and the sword. He accordingly convoked 
a diet at Prague. The nobles were assembled in large num- 
bers, and the occasion was invested with unusual solemnity. 
The emperor himself introduced to them his son, and recom- 
mended him to them as their future sovereign. The nobles 
were much gratified by so unexpected a concession, and with 
enthusiasm accepted their new king. The emperor had thus 
wisely secured for his son the crowns of Hungary and Bohe- 
mia. 

Having succeeded in these two important measures, Max- 
imilian set about the more difficult enterprise of securing for 
his son his succession upon the imperial throne. This was a 
difficult matter in the strong rivalry which then existed be- 
tween the Catholics and the Protestants. With caution and 
conciliation, encountering and overturning innumerable ob- 
stacles, Maximilian proceeded, until having, as he supposed, a 
fair chance of success, he summoned the diet of electors at 
Ratisbon. But here new difficulties arose. The Protestants 
were jealous of their constantly-imperiled privileges, and 
wished to surround them with additional safeguards. The 
Catholics, on the contrary, stimulated by the court of Rome, 
wished to withdraw the toleration already granted, and to 
pursue the Protestant faith with new rigor. The meeting of 
the diet was long and stormy, and again they were upon the 
point of a violent dissolution. But the wisdom, moderation 
and perseverance of Maximilian finally prevailed, and his sue- 



180 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

cess was entire. Rhodolph III. was unanimously chosjn to 
succeed him upon the imperial throne, and was crowned at 
Ratisbon on the 1st of November, 1575. 

Poland was strictly an elective monarchy. The tumultu- 
ous nobles had established a law prohibiting the election of 
a successor during the lifetime of the monarch. Their last 
king had been the reckless, chivalrous Henry, Duke of Anjou, 
brother of Charles IX. of France. Charles IX. having died 
without issue, Henry succeeded him upon the throne of France, 
and abdicated the crown of the semi-barbaric wilds of Poland. 
The nobles were about to assemble for the election. There 
were many influential candidates. Maximilian was anxious to 
obtain the crown for his son Ernest. Much to the surprise of 
Maximilian, he himself was chosen king. Protestantism had 
gained the ascendency in Poland, and a large majority of the 
nobles united upon Maximilian. The electors honored both 
themselves and the emperor in assigning, as the reason for 
their choice, that the emperor had conciliated the contending 
factions of the Christian world, and had acquired more glory 
by his pacific policy than other princes had acquired in the 
exploits of war. 

There were curious conditions at that time assigned to the 
occupancy of the throne of Poland. The elected monarch, 
before receiving the crown, was required to give his pledge 
that he would reside two years uninterruptedly in the king- 
dom, and that then he would not leave without the consent 
of the nobles. He was also required to construct four for- 
tresses at his own expense, and to pay all the debts, of the last 
monarch, however heavy they might be, including the arrears 
of the troops. He was also to maintain a sort of guard of 
honor, consisting often thousand Polish horsemen. 

In addition to the embarrassment which these conditions 
presented, there were many indications of jealousy on the part 
of other powers, in view of the wonderful aggrandizement of 
Austria. Encouraged by the emperor's delay and by the hos- 



ACCESSION OF MAXIMILIAN II. 181 

tility of other powers, a minority of the nobles chose Stephen 
Bathori, a Transylvanian prince, King of Poland ; and to 
strengthen his title, married him to Anne, sister to Sigismond 
Augustus, the King of Poland who preceded the Duke of 
Anjou. Maximilian thus aroused, signed the articles of agree- 
ment, and the two rival monarchs prepared for war. The 
kingdoms of Europe were arraying themselves, some on the 
one side and some on the other, and there was the prospect of 
a long, desperate and bloody strife, when death stilled the 
tumult. 

Maximilian had long been declining:. On the 12th of Oc- 
tober, 1576, he breathed his last at Ratisbon. He apparently 
died the death of the Christian, tranquilly surrendering his 
spirit to his Saviour. He died in the fiftieth year of his age 
and the twelfth of his reign. He had lived, for those dark 
days, eminently the life of the righteous, and his end was 
peace. 

" So fades the summer cloud away, 

So sinks the gale when storms are o'er 
So gently shuts the eye of day, 

So dies a wave along the shore." 



CHAPTER XII. 

CHARACTER OF MAXIMILIAN II— SUCCESSION OF 
RHODOLPH III. 

From 1576 to 1604. 

Character of Maximilian. — His Accomplishments. — His Wife. — Fate of his Chil- 
dren. — Rhodolph IIL — The Libertt of Worship. — Means of Emancipation. — 
Ehodolph's Attempts against Protestantism. — Declaration of a higher Law. 
— Theological Differences. — The Confederacy at Heilbrun. — The Gregorian 
Calendar.— Intolerance in Bohemia. — The Trap of the Monks. — Invasion of 
the Turks.— Their Defeat.— Coalition with Sigismond.— Sale of Transylva- 
nia.— Rule of Basta. — The Empire captured and recaptured. — Devastation 
of the Country. — Treatment of Stephen Botskoi. 

TT is indeed refreshing, in the midst of the long list of selfish 
-*- and ambitious sovereigns who have disgraced the thrones 
of Europe, to meet with such a prince as Maximilian, a gentle- 
man, a philosopher, a philanthropist and a Christian. Henry 
of Yalois, on his return from Poland to France, visited Maxi- 
milian at Vienna. Henry was considered one of the most 
polished men of his age. He remarked in his palace at Paris 
that in all his travels he had never met a more accomplished 
gentleman than the Emperor Maximilian. Similar is the tes- 
timony of all his contemporaries. With all alike, at all times, 
and under all circumstances, he was courteous and affable. 
His amiability shone as conspicuously at home as abroad, and 
he was invariably the kind husband, the tender father, the in- 
dulgent master and the faithful friend. 

In early life he had vigorously prosecuted his studies, and 
thus possessed the invaluable blessing of a highly cultivated 
mind. Fond of the languages, he not only wrote and con- 
versed in the Latin tongue with fluency and elegance, but was 
quite at home in all the languages of his extensive domains. 



CHARACTER OF MAXIMILIAN II. 183 

Notwithstanding the immense cares devolving upon the 
ruler of so extended an empire, he appropriated a portion of 
time every day to devotional reading and prayer ; and his 
hours were methodically arranged for business, recreation and 
repose. The most humble subject found easy access to his 
person, and always obtained a patient hearing. When he was 
chosen King of Poland, some ambassadors from Bohemia vol- 
untarily went to Poland to testify to the virtues of their king. 
It was a heartfelt tribute, such as few sovereigns have ever 
received. 

" We Bohemians," said they, " are as happy under his gov- 
ernment as if he were our father. Our privileges, laws, rights, 
liberties and usages are protected and defended. Not less 
just than wise, he confers the offices and dignities of the king- 
dom only on natives of rank, and is not influenced by favor or 
artifice. He introduces no innovations contrary to our immu- 
nities ; and when the great expenses which he incurs for the 
good of Christendom render contributions necessary, he lev- 
ies them without violence, and with the approbation of the 
States. But what may be almost considered a miracle is, the 
prudence and impartiality of his conduct toward persons of a 
different faith, always recommending union, concord, peace, 
toleration and mutual regard. He listens even to the mean- 
est of his subjects, readily receives their petitions and renders 
impartial justice to all." 

Not an act of injustice sullied his reign, and during his ad- 
ministration nearly all Germany, with the exception of Hun- 
gary, enjoyed almost uninterrupted tranquillity. Catholics and 
Protestants unite in his praises, and have conferred upon him 
the surname of the Delight of Mankind. His wife Mary was 
the daughter of Charles V. She was an accomplished, exem- 
plary woman, entirely devoted to the Catholic faith. For this 
devotion, notwithstanding the tolerant spirit of her husband, 
she was warmly extolled by the Catholics. Gregory XIII. 
called her the firm column of the Catholic faith, and Pius V. 



184 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

pronounced her worthy of being worshiped. After the death 
of her husband she returned to Spain, to the bigoted court of 
her bigoted brother Philip. Upon reaching Madrid she de- 
veloped the spirit which dishonored her, in expressing great 
joy that she was once more in a country where no heretic was 
tolerated. Soon after she entered a nunnery where she re- 
mained seven years until her death. 

It is interesting briefly to trace out the history of the chil- 
dren of this royal family. It certainly will not tend to make 
one any more discontented to move in a humbler sphere. 
Maximilian left three daughters and five sons. 

Anne, the eldest daughter, was engaged to her cousin, Don 
Carlos, only son of her uncle Philip, King of Spain. As he 
was consequently heir to the Spanish throne, this was a bril- 
liant match. History thus records the person and character 
of Don Carlos. He was sickly and one of his legs was shorter 
than the other. His temper was not only violent, but furious, 
breaking over all restraints, and the malignant passions were 
those alone which governed him. He always slept with two 
naked swords under his pillow, two loaded pistols, and several 
loaded guns, with a chest of fire-arms at the side of his bed. 
He formed a conspiracy to murder his father. He was ar- 
rested and imprisoned. Choking with rage, he called for a fire 
and threw himself into the flames, hoping to suffocate himself 
Being rescued, he attempted to starve himself. Failing in 
this, he tried to choke himself by swallowing a diamond. He 
threw off his clothes, and went naked and barefoot on the 
stone floor, hoping to engender some fatal disease. For eleven 
days he took no food but ice. At length the wretched man 
died, and thus Anne lost her lover. But Philip, the father of 
Don Carlos, and own uncle of Anne, concluded to take her for 
himself. She lived a few years as Queen of Spain, and died 
four years after the death of her father, Maximilian. 

Elizabeth, the second daughter, was beautiful. At sixteen 
years of age she married Charles IX., King of France, who 



CHARACTER OF MAXIMILIAN II. 185 

was then twenty years old. Charles IX. ascended the throne 
when but ten years of age, under the regency of his infamous 
mother, Catherine de Medici, perhaps the most demoniac fe- 
male earth has known. Under her tutelage, her boy, equally 
impotent in body and in mind, became as pitiable a creature as 
ever disgraced a throne. The only energy he ever showed 
was in shooting the Protestants from a window of the Louvre 
in the horrible Massacre of St. Bartholomew, which he planned 
at the instigation of his fiend-like mother. A few wretched 
years the youthful queen lived with the monster, when his 
death released her from that bondage. She then returned to 
Vienna, a young and childless widow, but twenty years of age. 
She built and endowed the splendid monastery of St. Mary 
de Angelis, and having seen enough of the pomp of the world, 
shut herself up from the world in the imprisonment of its 
cloisters, where she recounted her beads for nineteen years, 
until she died in 1592. 

Margaret, the youngest daughter, after her father's death, 
accompanied her mother to Spain. Her sister Anne soon after 
died, and Philip II., her morose and debauched husband, hav- 
ing already buried four wives, and no one can tell how many 
guilty favorites, sought the hand of his young and fresh niece. 
But Margaret wisely preferred the gloom of the cloister to the 
Babylonish glare of the palace. She rejected the polluted and 
withered hand, and in solitude and silence, as a hooded nun, she 
remained immured in her cell for fifty-seven years. Then her 
pure spirit passed from a joyless life on earth, we trust, to a 
happy home in heaven. 

Rhodolph, the eldest son, succeeded his father, and in the 
Hubsequent pages we shall record his career. 

Ernest, the second son, was a mild, bashful young man, of 
a temperament so singularly melancholy that he was rarely 
known to smile. His brother Rhodolph gave him the appoint- 
ment of Governor of Hungary. He passed quietly down the 
stream cf time until he was forty-two years of age, when he 



186 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

died of the stone, a disease which had long tortured him with 
excruciating pangs. 

Matthias, the third son, became a restless, turbulent man, 
whose deeds we shall have occasion to record in connection 
with his brother Rhodolph, whom he sternly and successfully 
opposed. 

Maximilian, the fourth son, when thirty years of age was 
elected King of Poland. An opposition party chose John, son 
of the King of Sweden. The rival candidates appealed to the 
cruel arbitration of the sword. In a decisive battle Maximil- 
ian's troops were defeated, and he was taken prisoner. He 
was only released upon his giving the pledge that he renounced 
all his right to the throne. He rambled about, now governing 
a province, and now fighting the Turks, until he died unmar- 
ried, sixty years of age. 

Albert, the youngest son, was destined to the Church. He 
was sent to Spain, and under the patronage of his royal uncle 
he soon rose to exalted ecclesiastical dignities. He, however, 
eventually renounced these for more alluring temporal hon- 
ors. Surrendering his cardinal's hat, and archiepiscopal robes, 
he espoused Isabella, daughter of Philip, and from the gov- 
ernorship of Portugal was promoted to the sovereignty of the 
Netherlands. Here he encountered only opposition and war. 
After a stormy and unsuccessful life, in which he was thwarted 
in all his plans, he died childless. 

From this digression let us return to Rhodolph in., the 
heir to the titles and the sovereignties of his father the em- 
peror. It was indeed a splendid inheritance which fell to his 
lot. He was the sole possessor of the archduchy of Austria, 
King of Bohemia and of Hungary, and Emperor of Germany. 
He was but twenty-five years of age when he entered upon 
the undisputed possession of all these dignities. His natural 
disposition was mild and amiable, his education had been care- 
fully attended to, his moral character was good, a rare virtue 
in those days, and he had already evinced much industry, en- 



SUCCESSION OF RHODOLPH III. 187 

ergy and talents for business. His father had left the finances 
and the internal administration of all his realms in good con- 
dition ; his moderation had greatly mitigated the religious 
animosities which disturbed other portions of Europe, and all 
obstacles to a peaceful and prosperous reign seemed to have 
been removed. 

But all these prospects were blighted by the religious big- 
otry which had gained a firm hold of the mind of the young 
emperor. When he was but twelve years of age he was sent 
to Madrid to be educated. Philip IT., of Spain, Rhodolph's 
uncle, had an only daughter, and no son, and there seemed to 
be no prospect that his queen would give birth to another 
child. Philip consequently thought of adopting Rhodolph as 
his successor to the Spanish throne, and of marrying him to 
his daughter. In the court of Spain where the Jesuits held 
supreme sway, and where Rhodolph was intrusted to their 
guidance, the superstitious sentiments which he had imbibed 
from his mother were still more deeply rooted. The Jesuits 
found Rhodolph a docile pupil ; and never on earth have there 
been found a set of men who, more thoroughly than the Jes- 
uits, have understood the art of educating the mind to sub- 
jection. Rhodolph was instructed in all the petty arts of 
intrigue and dissimulation, and was brought into entire sub- 
serviency to the Spanish court. Thus educated, Rhodolph 
received the crown. 

He commenced his reign with the desperate resolve to 
crush out Protestantism, either by force or guile, and to bring 
back his realms to the papal church. Even the toleration of 
Maximilian, in those dark days, did not allow freedom of 
worship to any but the nobles. The wealthy and emancipated 
citizens of Vienna, and other royal cities, could not establish 
a church of their own ; they could only, under protection of 
the nobles, attend the churches which the nobles sustained. 
In other words, the people were slaves, who were hardly 
thought of in any state arrangements. The nobles were 



188 THE HOUSE OP ATJSTKIA. 

merely the slaveholders. As there was not difference of 
color to mark the difference between the slaveholder and the 
slaves or vassals, many in the cities, who had in various ways 
achieved their emancipation, had become wealthy and in- 
structed, and were slowly claiming some few rights. The 
country nobles could assemble their vassals in the churches 
where they had obtained toleration. In some few cases some 
of the citizens of the large towns, who had obtained emanci- 
pation from some feudal oppressions, had certain defined po- 
litical privileges granted them. But, in general, the nobles 
or slaveholders, some having more, and some having less 
wealth and power, were all whom even Maximilian thought 
of including in his acts of toleration. A learned man in the 
universities, or a wealthy man in the walks of commerce, was 
compelled to find shelter under the protection of some power- 
ful noble. There were nobles of all ranks, from the dukes, 
who could bring twenty thousand armed men into the field, 
down to the most petty, impoverished baron, who had perhaps 
not half a dozen vassals. 

Rhodolph's first measure was to prevent the burghers, as 
they were called, who were those who had in various ways 
obtained emancipation from vassal service, and in the large 
cities had acquired energy, wealth and an air of independ- 
ence, from attending Protestant worship. The nobles were 
very jealous of their privileges, and were prompt to combine 
whenever they thought them infringed. Fearful of rousing 
the nobles, Rhodolph issued a decree, confirming the tolera- 
tion which his father had granted the nobles, but forbidding 
the burghers from attending Protestant worship. This was 
very adroitly done, as it did not interfere with the vassals of 
the rural nobles on their estates ; and these burghers were 
freed men, over whom the nobles could claim no authority. 
At the same time Rhodolph silenced three of the most elo- 
quent and influential of the Protestant ministers, under the 
plea that they assailed the Catholic church with too much viru- 



SUCCESSION OF EHODOLPH III. 189 

lence ; and he also forbade any one thenceforward to officiate 
as a Protestant clergyman without a license from him. These 
were very decisive acts, and yet very adroit ones, as they 
did not directly interfere with any of the immunities of the 
nobles. 

The Protestants were, however, much alarmed by these 
measures, as indicative of the intolerant policy of the new 
king. The preachers met together to consult. They corre- 
sponded with foreign universities respecting the proper course 
to pursue ; and the Protestant nobles met to confer upon the 
posture of affairs. As the result of their conferences, they 
issued a remonstrance, declaring that they could not yield to 
such an infringement of the rights of conscience, and that 
" they were bound to obey God rather than man." 

Rhodolph was pleased with this resistance, as it afforded 
him some excuse for striking a still heavier blow. He de- 
clared the remonstrants guilty of rebellion. As a punishment, 
he banished several Protestant ministers, and utterly forbade* 
the exercise of any Protestant worship whatever, in any of 
the royal towns, including Vienna itself. He communicated 
with the leading Catholics in the Church and in the State, 
urging them to act with energy, concert and unanimity. He 
removed the Protestants from office, and supplied their places 
with Catholics. He forbade any license to preach or aca- 
demical degree, or professorship in the universities from being 
conferred upon any one who did not sign the formulary of 
the Catholic faith. He ordered a new catechism to be drawn 
up for universal use in the schools, that there should be no 
more Protestant education of children ; he allowed no town 
to choose any officer without his approbation, and he refused 
to ratify any choice which did not fall upon a Catholic. No 
person was to be admitted to the rights of burghership, until 
he had taken an oath of submission to the Catholic priest- 
hood. These high-handed measures led to the outbreak of a 
few insurrections, which the emperor crushed with iron rigor. 



190 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

In the course of a few years, by the vigorous and unrelenting 
prosecution of these measures, Rhodolph gave the Catholics 
the ascendency in all his realms. 

While the Catholics were all united, the Protestants were 
shamefully divided upon the most trivial points of discipline, 
or upon abstruse questions in philosophy above the reach of 
mortal minds. It was as true then, as in the days of our 
Saviour, that "the children of this world are wiser in their gen- 
eration than the children of light." Henry IV., of France, 
who had not then embraced the Catholic faith, was anxious to 
unite the two great parties of Lutherans and Calvinists, who 
were as hostile to each other as they were to the Catholics. 
He sent an ambassador to Germany to urge their union. He 
entreated them to call a general synod, suggesting, that as 
they differed only on the single point of the Lord's Supper, it 
would be easy for them to form some basis of fraternal and 
harmonious action. 

The Catholic church received the doctrine, so called, of 
transubstantiation ; that is, the bread and wine, used in the 
Lord's Supper, is converted into the actual body and blood 
of Jesus Christ, that it is no longer bread and wine, but real 
flesh and blood ; and none the less so, because it does not ap- 
pear such to our senses. Luther renounced the doctrine of 
transubstantiation, and adopted, in its stead, what he called 
consubstantiation ; that is, that after the consecration of the 
elements, the body and blood of Christ are substantially pres- 
ent with (cum et sub,) with and under, the substance of the 
bread and wine. Calvin taught that the bread and wine rep- 
resented the real body and blood of Christ, and that the 
body and blood were spiritually present in the sacrament. It 
is a deplorable exhibition of the weakness of good men, that 
the Lutherans and the Calvinists should have wasted their 
energies in contending together upon such a point. But we 
moderns have no right to boast. Precisely the same spirit is 
manifested now, and denominations differ and strive together 



SUCCESSION OF EHODOLPH III. 191 

upon questions which the human mind can never settle. The 
spirit which then animated the two parties may be inferred 
from the reply of the Lutherans. 

"The partisans of Calvin," they wrote, " have accumulated 
such numberless errors in regard to the person of Christ, the 
communication of His merits and the dignity of human nature ; 
have given such forced explanations of the Scriptures, and 
adopted so many blasphemies, that the question of the Lord's 
Supper, far from being the principal, has become the least 
point of difference. An outward union, merely for worldly 
purposes, in which each party is suffered to maintain its pe- 
culiar tenets, can neither be agreeable to God nor useful to 
the Church. These considerations induced us to insert into 
the formulary of concord a condemnation of the Calvinistical 
errors ; and to declare our public decision that false principles 
should not be covered with the semblance of exterior union, 
and tolerated under pretense of the right of private judgment, 
but that all should submit to the Word of God, as the only 
rule to which their faith and instructions should be con- 
formable." 

They, in conclusion, very politely informed King Henry 
IV. himself, that if he wished to unite with them, he must sign 
their creed. This was sincerity, honesty, but it was the sin- 
cerity and honesty of minds but partially disinthralled from the 
bigotry of the dark ages. While the Protestants were thus 
unhappily disunited, the pope cooperated with the emperor, 
and wheeled all his mighty forces into the line to recover the 
ground which the papal church had lost. Several of the more 
enlightened of the Protestant princes, seeing all their efforts 
paralyzed by disunion, endeavored to heal the schism. But 
the Lutheran leaders would not listen to the Calvinists, nor 
the Calvinists to the Lutherans, and the masses, as usual, 
blindly followed their leaders. 

Several of the Calvinist princes and nobles, the Lutherans 
refusing to meet with them, united in a confederacy at Heil- 



192 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

brun, and drew up a long list of grievances, declaring that, 
until they were redressed, they should withhold the suc- 
cors which the emperor had solicited to repel the Turks. 
Most of these grievances were very serious, sufficiently so to 
rouse men to almost any desperation of resistance. But it 
would be amusing, were it not humiliating, to find among 
them the complaint that the pope had changed the calendar 
from the Julian to the Gregorian. 

By the Julian calendar, or Old Style as it was called, the 
solar year was estimated at three hundred and sixty-five days 
and six hours ; but it exceeds this by about eleven minutes. 
As no allowance was made for these minutes, which amount to 
a day in about one hundred and thirty years, the current year 
had, in process of ages, advanced ten days beyond the real 
time. Thus the vernal equinox, which really took place on 
the 10th of March, was assigned in the calendar to the 21st. 
To rectify this important error the New Style, or Gregorian 
calendar, was introduced, so called from Pope Gregory XII. 
Ten days were dropped after the 4th of October, 1582, and the 
5th was called the 15th. This reform of the calendar, correct 
and necessary as it was, was for a long time adopted only by 
the Catholic princes, so hostile were the Protestants to any 
thing whatever which originated from the pope. In their list 
of grievances they mentioned this most salutary reform as 
one, stating that the pope and the Jesuits presumed even to 
change the order of times and years. 

This confederacy of the Calvinists, unaided by the Luther- 
ans, accomplished nothing ; but still, as year after year the 
disaffection increased, their numbers gradually increased also, 
until, on the 12th of February, 1603, at Heidelberg they en- 
tered into quite a formidable alliance, offensive and defensive. 

Rhodolph, encouraged by success, pressed his measure of 
intolerance with renovated vigor. Having quite effectually 
abolished the Protestant worship in the States of Austria, he 
turned his attention to Bohemia, where, under the mild gov- 



SUCCESSION OF EHODOLPH III. 193 

ernment of his father, the Protestants had enjoyed a degree of 
liberty of conscience hardly known in any other part of Eu- 
rope. The realm was startled by the promulgation of a de- 
cree forbidding both Calvinists and Lutherans from holding 
any meetings for divine worship, and declaring them incapaci- 
tated from holding any official employment whatever. At the 
same time he abolished all their schools, and either closed all 
their churches, or placed in them Catholic preachers. These 
same decrees were also promulgated and these same meas- 
ures adopted in Hungary. And still the Protestants, insanely 
quarreling among themselves upon the most abstruse points of 
theological philosophy, chose rather to be devoured piecemeal 
by their great enemy than to combine in self-defense. 

The emperor now turned from his own dominions of Aus- 
tria, Hungary and Bohemia, where he reigned in undisputed 
sway, to other States of the empire, which were governed by 
their own independent rulers and laws, and where the power 
of the emperor was shadowy and limited. He began with the 
city of Aix-la-Chapelle, in a Prussian province on the Lower 
Rhine ; sent an army there, took possession of the town, ex- 
pelled the Protestants from the magistracy, driving some of 
them into exile, inflicting heavy fines upon others, and abol- 
ishing entirely the exercise of the Protestant religion. 

He then turned to Donauworth, an important city of Ba- 
varia, upon the Upper Danube. This was a Protestant city, 
having within its walls but few Catholics. There was in 
the city one Catholic religious establishment, a Benedictine 
abbey. The friars enjoyed unlimited freedom of conscience 
and worship within their own walls, but were not permitted 
to occupy the streets with their processions, performing the 
forms and ceremonies of the Catholic church. The Catholics, 
encouraged by the emperor, sent out a procession from the 
walls of the abbey, with torches, banners, relics and all the 
pageants of Catholic worship. The magistrates stopped the 
procession, took away their banners and sent them back to 

9 



194 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

the abbey, and then suffered the procession to proceed. Soon 
after the friars got up another procession on a funeral occa 
sion. The magistrates, apprehensive that this was a trap tc 
excite them to some opposition which would render it plausi 
ble for the emperor to interfere, suffered the procession to 
proceed unmolested. In a few days the monks repeated the 
experiment. The populace had now become excited, and there 
were threats of violence. The magistrates, fearful of the con- 
sequences, did every thing in their power to soothe the peo- 
ple, and urged them, by earnest proclamation, to abstain from 
all tumult. For some time the procession, displaying all the 
hated pomp of papal worship, paraded the streets undisturbed. 
But at length the populace became ungovernable, attacked the 
monks, demolished their pageants and pelted them with mire 
back into the convent. 

This was enough. The emperor published the ban of the 
empire, and sent the Duke of Bavaria with an army to execute 
the decree. Resistance was hopeless. The troops took pos- 
session of the town, abolished the Protestant religion, and de- 
livered the churches to the Catholics. 

The Protestants now saw that there was no hope for them 
but in union. Thus driven together by an outward pressure 
which was every day growing more menacing and severe, the 
chiefs of the Protestant party met at Aschhausen and estab- 
lished a confederacy to continue for ten years. Thus united, 
they drew up a list of grievances, and sent an embassy to pre- 
sent their demands to the emperor. And now came a very 
serious turn in the fortunes of Rhodolph. Notwithstanding 
the armistice which had been concluded with the Turks by 
Rhodolph, a predatory warfare continued to rage along the 
borders. Neither the emperor nor the sultan, had they wished 
it, could prevent fiery spirits, garrisoned in fortresses frowning 
at each other, from meeting occasionally in hostile encounter. 
And both parties were willing that their soldiers should have 
enough to do to keep up their courage and their warlike spirit. 



SUCCESSION OP EHODOLPH III. 195 

Aggression succeeding aggression, sometimes on one side and 
sometimes on the other, the sultan at last, in a moment of ex- 
asperation, resolved to break the truce. 

A large army of Turks invaded Croatia, took several for- 
tresses, and marching up the valley of the Save, were opening 
before them a route into the heart of the Austrian States. 
The emperor hastily gathered an army to oppose them. They 
met before Siseck, at the confluence of the Kulpa and the 
Save. The Turks were totally defeated, with the loss of 
twelve thousand men. Exasperated by the defeat, the sultan 
roused his energies anew, and war again raged in all its hor- 
rors. The advantage was with the Turks, and they gradually 
forced their way up the valley of the Danube, taking fortress 
after fortress, till they were in possession of the important town 
of Raab, within a hundred miles of Vienna. 

Sigismond, the waivode or governor of Transylvania, an 
energetic, high-spirited man, had, by his arms, brought the 
provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia under subjection to him. 
Having attained such power, he was galled at the idea of 
holding his government under the protection of the Turks. 
He accordingly abandoned the sultan, and entered into a co- 
alition with the emperor. The united armies fell furiously 
upon the Turks, and drove them back to Constantinople. 

The sultan, himself a man of exceedingly ferocious charac- 
ter, was thoroughly aroused by this disgrace. He raised an 
immense army, placed himself at its head, and in 1596 again 
invaded Hungary. He drove the Austrians everywhere before 
him, and but for the lateness of the season would have bom- 
barded Vienna. Sigismond, in the hour of victory, sold Tran- 
sylvania to Rhodolph for the governorship of some provinces 
in Silesia, and a large annual pension. There was some fight- 
ing before the question was fully settled in favor of the em- 
peror, and then he placed the purchased and the conquered 
province under the government of the imperial general Basta. 

The rule of Basta was so despotic that the Transylvanians 



196 THE HOUSE OP AUSTEIA. 

rose in revolt, and under an intrepid chief, Moses Tzekeli, ap- 
pealed to the Turks for aid. The Turks were rejoiced again to 
find the Christians divided, and hastened to avail themselves of 
the cooperation of the disaffected. The Austrians were driven 
from Transylvania, and the Turks aided in crowning Tzekeli 
Prince of Transylvania, under the protection of the Porte. 
The Austrians, however, soon returned in greater force, killed 
Tzekeli in the confusion of battle, and reconquered the coun- 
try. During all this time wretched Hungary was ravaged 
with incessant wars between the Turks and Austrians. Army 
after army swept to and fro over the smoldering cities and 
desolated plains. Neither party gained any decisive advan- 
tage, while Hungary was exposed to misery which no pen can 
describe. Cities were bombarded, now by the Austrians and 
now by the Turks, villages were burned, harvests trodden 
down, every thing eatable was consumed. Outrages were 
perpetrated upon the helpless population by the ferocious 
Turks which can not be told. 

The Hungarians lost all confidence in Rhodolph. The big- 
oted emperor was so much engaged in the attempt to extir- 
pate what he called heresy from his realms, that he neglected 
to send armies sufficiently strong to protect Hungary from 
these ravages. He could have done this without much diffi- 
culty ; but absorbed in his hostility to Protestantism, he mere- 
ly sent sufficient troops to Hungary to keep the country in a 
constant state of warfare. He filled every important govern- 
mental post in Hungary with Catholics and foreigners. To all 
the complaints of the Hungarians he turned a deaf ear ; and 
his own Austrian troops frequently rivaled the Turks in dev- 
astation and pillage. At the same time he issued the most 
intolerant edicts, depriving the Protestants of all their rights, 
and endeavoring to force the Roman Catholic religion upon 
the community. 

He allowed, and even encouraged, his rapacious generals 
to insult and defraud the Protestant Hungarian nobles, seiz- 



SUCCESSION OF EHODOLPH II . 197 

ing their castles, confiscating their estates and driving them 
into exile. This oppression at last became unendurable. The 
people were driven to despair. One of the most illustrious 
nobles of Hungary, a magnate of great wealth and distinction, 
Stephen Botskoi, repaired to Prague to inform the emperor of 
the deplorable state of Hungary and to seek redress. He was 
treated with the utmost indignity ; was detained for hours in 
the ante-chamber of the emperor, where he encountered the 
most cutting insults from the minions of the court. The in- 
dignation of the high-spirited noble was roused to the high- 
est pitch. And when, on his return to Hungary, he found his 
estates plundered and devastated by order of the imperial 
governor, he was all ready to head an insurrection. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

HHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 
From 1604 to 1609. 

Botskoi's Manifesto.— Horrible Suffering in Transylvania. — Character of Bot- 
skoi. — Confidence of the Protestants. — Superstition of Ehodolph. — His Mys« 
tio Studies. — Acquirements of Matthias.— Schemes of Matthias. — His in- 
creasing Power.— Treaty with the Turks. — Demands on Ehodolph.— Thk 
Compromise. — Perfidy of Matthias. — The Margrayite. — Filibustering. — Thb 
People's Diet.— A Hint to Royalty.— The bloodless Triumph.— Demands of 
the Germans. — Address of the Prince of Anhalt to the King. 

STEPHEN" BOTSKOI issued a spirited manifesto to his 
countrymen, urging them to seek by force of arms that 
redress which they could obtain in no other way. The Hun- 
garians nocked in crowds to his standard. Many soldiers de- 
serted from the service of the emperor and joined the insur- 
rection. Botskoi soon found himself in possession of a force 
sufficiently powerful to meet the Austrian troops in the field. 
The two hostile armies soon met in the vicinity of Cassau. 
The imperial troops were defeated with great slaughter, and 
the city of Cassau fell into the hands of Botskoi ; soon his vic- 
torious troops took several other important fortresses. The 
inhabitants of Transylvania, encouraged by the success of Bot- 
skoi, and detesting the imperial rule, also in great numbers 
crowded his ranks and intreated him to march into Transylva- 
nia. He promptly obeyed their summons. The misery of the 
Transylvanians was, if possible, still greater than that of the 
Hungarians. Their country presented but a wide expanse of 
ruin and starvation. Every aspect of comfort and industry 
was obliterated. The famishing inhabitants were compelled to 
use the most disgusting animals for food ; and when these were 



EHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 199 

gone, in many cases they went to the grave-yard, in the fren- 
zied torments of hunger, and devoured the decaying bodies of 
the dead. Pestilence followed in the train of these woes, and 
the land was filled with the dying and the dead. 

The Turks marched to the aid of Botskoi to expel the Aus- 
trians. Even the sway of the Mussulman was preferable to 
that of the bigoted Rhodolph. Hungary, Transylvania and 
Turkey united, and the detested Austrians were driven out of 
Transylvania, and Botskoi, at the head of his victorious army, 
and hailed by thousands as the deliverer of Transylvania, was 
inaugurated prince of the province. He then returned to 
Hungary, where an immense Turkish army received him, in 
the plains of Rahoz, with regal honors. Here a throne was 
erected. The banners of the majestic host fluttered in the 
breeze, and musical bands filled the air with their triumphal 
strains as the regal diadem was placed upon the brow of Bot- 
skoi, and he was proclaimed King of Hungary. The Sultan 
Achment sent, with his congratulations to the victorious no- 
ble, a saber of exquisite temper and finish, and a gorgeous 
standard. The grand vizier himself placed the royal diadem 
upon his brow. 

Botskoi was a nobleman in every sense of the word. He 
thought it best publicly to accept these honors in gratitude to 
the sultan for his friendship and aid, and also to encourage and 
embolden the Hungarians to retain what they had already ac- 
quired. He knew that there were bloody battles still before 
them, for the emperor would doubtless redouble his efforts to 
regain his Hungarian possessions. At the same time Botskoi, 
in the spirit of true patriotism, was not willing even to appear 
to have usurped the government through the energies of the 
swo^d. He therefore declared that he should not claim the 
crown unless he should be freely elected by the nobles ; and 
that he accepted these honors simply as tokens of the confi- 
dence of the allied army, and as a means of strengthening 
their po^ er to resist the emperor. 



200 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

The campaign was now urged with great vigor, and nearly- 
all of Hungary was conquered. Such was the first great dis- 
aster which the intolerance and folly of Rhodolph brought 
upon him. The Turks and the Hungarians were now good 
friends, cordially cooperating. A few more battles would place 
them in possession of the whole of Hungary, and then, in their 
alliance they could defy all the power of the emperor, and 
penetrate even the very heart of his hereditary dominions of 
Austria. Rhodolph, in this sudden peril, knew not where to 
look for aid. The Protestants, who constituted one half of 
the physical force, not only of Bohemia and of the Austrian 
States, but of all Germany, had been insulted and oppressed 
beyond all hope of reconciliation. They dreaded the papal 
emperor more than the Mohammedan sultan. They were 
ready to hail Botskoi as their deliverer from intolerable des- 
potism, and to swell the ranks of his army. Botskoi was a 
Protestant, and the sympathies of the Protestants all over 
Germany were with him. Elated by his advance, the Prot- 
estants withheld all contributions from the emperor, and be- 
gan to form combinations in favor of the Protestant chief. 
Rhodolph was astonished at this sudden reverse, and quite in 
dismay. He had no resource but to implore the aid of the 
Spanish court. 

Rhodolph was as superstitious as he was bigoted and cruel. 
Through the mysteries of alchymy he had been taught to be- 
lieve that his life would be endangered by one of his own blood. 
The idea haunted him by night and by day ; he was to be as- 
sassinated, and by a near relative. He was. afraid to marry 
lest his own child might prove his destined murderer. He 
was afraid to have his brothers marry lest it might be a nephew 
who was to perpetrate the deed. He did not dare to attend 
church, or to appear any where in public without taking the 
greatest precautions against any possibility of attack. The 
galleries of his palace were so arranged with windows in the 



RHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 201 

roof, that he could pass from one apartment to another shel- 
tered by impenetrable walls. 

This terror, which pursued him every hour, palsied his en- 
ergies ; and while the Turks were drawing nearer to his capi- 
tal, and Hungary had broken from his sway, and insurrection 
was breaking out in all parts of his dominions, he secluded 
himself in the most retired apartments of his palace at Prague, 
haunted by visions of terror, as miserable himself as he had 
already made millions of his subjects. He devoted himself to 
the study of the mystic sciences of astrology and alchymy. 
He became irritable, morose, and melancholy even to mad- 
ness. Foreign ambassadors could not get admission to his 
presence. His religion, consisting entirely in ecclesiastical rit- 
uals and papal dogmas, not in Christian morals, could not 
dissuade him from the most degrading sensual vice. Low 
born mistresses, whom he was continually changing, became 
his only companions, and thus sunk in sin, shame and misery, 
he virtually abandoned his ruined realms to their fate. 

Rhodolph had received the empire from the hands of his 
noble father in a state of the very highest prosperity. In 
thirty years, by shameful misgovernment, he had carried it to 
the brink of ruin. Rhodolph's third brother, Matthias, was 
now forty-nine years of age. He had been educated by the 
illustrious Busbequias, whose mind had been liberalized by 
study in the most celebrated universities of Flanders, France 
and Italy. His teacher had passed many years as an ambassa- 
dor in the court of the sultan, and thus had been able to give 
his pupil a very intimate acquaintance with the resources, the 
military tactics, the manners and customs of the Turks. He 
excelled in military exercises, and was passionately devoted to 
the art of war. In all respects he was the reverse of his 
brother — energetic, frank, impulsive. The two brothers, so 
dissimilar, had no ideas in common, and were always involved 
in bickerings. 

The Netherlands had risen in revolt against the infamous 
9* 



202 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

Philip II. of Spain. They chose the intrepid and warlike Mat 
thias as their leader. With alacrity he assumed the perilous 
post. The rivalry of the chiefs thwarted his plans, and he re- 
signed his post and returned to Austria, where his brother, the 
emperor, refused even to see him, probably fearing assassina- 
tion. Matthias took up his residence at Lintz, where he lived 
for some time in obscurity and penury. His imperial brother 
would neither give him help nor employment. The restless 
prince fretted like a tiger in his cage. 

In 1595 Rhodolph's second brother, Ernest, died childless, 
and thus Matthias became heir presumptive to the crown of 
Austria. From that time Rhodolph made a change, and in- 
trusted him with high offices. Still the brothers were no 
nearer to each other in affection. Rhodolph dreaded the am- 
bition and was jealous of the rising power of his brother. 
He no longer dared to treat him ignominiously, lest his brother 
should be provoked to some desperate act of retaliation. On 
the other hand, Matthias despised the weakness and supersti- 
tion of Rhodolph. The increasing troubles in the realm and 
the utter inefficiency of Rhodolph, convinced Matthias that 
the day was near when he must thrust Rhodolph from the 
throne he disgraced, and take his seat upon it, or the splendid 
hereditary domains which had descended to them from their 
ancestors would pass from their hands forever. 

With this object in view, he did all he could to conciliate 
the Catholics, while he attempted to secure the Protestants by 
promising to return to the principles of toleration established 
by his father, Maximilian. Matthias rapidly increased in popu- 
larity, and as rapidly Rhodolph was sinking into disgrace. 
Catholics and Protestants saw alike that the ruin of Austria 
was impending, and that apparently there was no hope but in 
the deposition of Rhodolph and the enthronement of Matthias. 

It was not difficult to accomplish this revolution, and yet 
it required energy, secrecy and an extended combination. 
Even the weakest reigning monarch has power in his hands 



EHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 203 

which can only be wrested from him by both strength and 
skill. Matthias first gained over to his plan his younger 
brother, Maximilian, and two of his cousins, princes of the 
Styrian line. They entered into a secret agreement, by which 
they declared that in consequence of the incapacity of Rho- 
dolph, he was to be considered as deposed by the will of 
Providence, and that Matthias was entitled to the sovereignty 
as head of the house of Austria. Matthias then gained, by 
the varied arts of diplomatic bargaining, the promised support 
of several other princes. He purchased the cooperation of Bots- 
koi by surrendering to him the whole of Transylvania, and all 
of Hungary to the river Theiss, which, including Transylvania, 
constitutes one half of the majestic kingdom. Matthias agreed 
to grant general toleration to all Protestants, both Lutherans 
and Calvinists, and also to render them equally eligible with 
the Catholics to all offices of emolument and honor. Both 
parties then agreed to unite against the Turks if they refused 
to accede to honorable terms of peace. The sultan, conscious 
that such a union would be more than he could successfully 
oppose, listened to the conditions of peace when they after- 
wards made them, as he had never condescended to listen be- 
fore. It is indicative of the power which the Turks had at 
that day attained, that a truce with the sultan for twenty 
years, allowing each party to retain possession of the terri- 
tories which they then held, was purchased by paying a sum 
outright, amounting to two hundred thousand dollars. The 
annual tribute, however, was no longer to be paid, and thus 
Christendom was released from the degradation of vassalage 
to the Turk. 

Rhodolph, who had long looked with a suspicious eye upon 
Matthias, watching him very narrowly, began now to see in- 
dications of the plot. He therefore, aided by the counsel and 
the energy of the King of Spain, who was implacable in his 
hostility to Matthias, resolved to make his cousin Ferdinand, 
i Styrian prince, his heir to succeed him upon the throne. 



204 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

He conferred upon Ferdinand exalted dignities ; appointed 
him to preside in his stead at a diet at Ratisbon, and is- 
sued a proclamation full of most bitter recriminations against 
Matthias. 

Matters had now come to such a pass that Matthias was 
compelled either to bow in humble submission to his brother, 
or by force of arms to execute his purposes. With such an 
alternative he was not a man long to delay his decision. Still 
he advanced in his plans, though firmly, with great circum- 
spection. To gain the Protestants was to gain one half of 
the physical power of united Austria, and more than one half 
of its enei'gy and intelligence. He appointed a rendezvous for 
his troops at Znaim in Moravia, and while Rhodolph was tim- 
idly secluding himself in his palace at Prague, Matthias left 
Vienna with ten thousand men, and marched to meet them. 
He was received by the troops assembled at Znaim with en- 
thusiasm. Having thus collected an army of twenty-five thou- 
sand men, he entered Bohemia. On the 10th of May, 1608, 
he reached Craslau, within sixty miles of Prague. Great mul- 
titudes now crowded around him and openly espoused his 
cause. He now declared openly and to all, that it was his in- 
tention to depose his brother and claim for himself the gov- 
ernment of Hungary, Austria and Bohemia. 

He then urged his battalions onward, and pressed with 
rapid march towards Prague. Rhodolph was now roused to 
some degree of energy. He summoned all his supporters to 
rally around him. It was a late hour for such a call, but the 
Catholic nobles generally, all over the kingdom, were instantly 
in motion. Many Protestant nobles also attended the assem- 
bly, hoping to extort from the emperor some measures of 
toleration. The emperor was so frightened that he was ready 
to promise almost any thing. He even crept from his secluded 
apartments and presided over the meeting in person. The 
Protestant nobles drew up a paper demanding the same tolera- 
tion which Maximilian had granted, with the additional permis 



EHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS 205 

sion to build churches and to have their own burying-grounds. 
With this paper, to which five or six hundred signatures were 
attached, they went to the palace, demanded admission to the 
emperor, and required him immediately to give his assent to 
them. It was not necessary for them to add any threat, for 
the emperor knew that there was an Austrian and Hungarian 
army within a few hours' march. 

While matters were in this state, commissioners from Mat- 
thias arrived to inform the king that he must cede the crown 
to his brother and retire into the Tyrol. The emperor, in ter- 
ror, inquired, " What shall I do ?" The Protestants demanded 
an immediate declaration, either that he would or would not 
grant their request. His friends told him that resistance was 
unavailing, and that he must come to an accommodation. Still 
the emperor had now thirty-six thousand troops in and around 
Prague. They were, however, inspired with no enthusiasm 
for his person, and it was quite doubtful whether they would 
fight. A few skirmishes took place between the advance 
guards with such results as to increase Rhodolph's alarm. 

He consequently sent envoys to his brother. They met at 
Liebau, and after a negotiation of four days they made a par- 
tial compromise, by which Rhodolph ceded to Matthias, with- 
out reservation, Hungary, Austria and Moravia. Matthias 
was also declared to be the successor to the crown of Bohe- 
mia should Rhodolph die without issue male, and Matthias 
was immediately to assume the title of " appointed King of 
Bohemia." The crown and scepter of Hungary were surren- 
dered to Matthias. He received them with great pomp at the 
head of his army, and then leading his triumphant battalions 
out of Bohemia, he returned to Vienna and entered the city 
with all the military parade of a returning conqueror. 

Matthias had now gained his great object, but he was not 
at all inclined to fulfill his promises. He assembled the nobles 
of Austria, to receive from them their oaths of allegiance. 
But the Protestants, taught caution by long experience, wished 



206 THE HOUSE OP AUSTEIA. 

first to see the decree of toleration which he had promised. 
Many of the Protestants, at a distance from the capital, not 
waiting for the issuing of the decree, but relying upon his 
promise, reestablished their worship, and the Lord of Inzen- 
dorf threw open his chapel to the citizens of the town. But 
Matthias was now disposed to play the despot. He arrested 
the Lord of Inzendorf, and closed his church. He demanded 
of all the lords, Protestant as well as Catholic, an uncondi- 
tional oath of allegiance, giving vague promises, that perhaps 
at some future time he would promulgate a decree of tolera- 
tion, but declaring that he was not bound to do so, on the 
miserable quibble that, as he had received from Rhodolph 
a hereditary title, he was not bound to grant any thing but 
what he had received. 

The Protestants were alarmed and exasperated. They 
grasped their arms ; they retired in a body from Vienna to 
Hern ; threw garrisons and provisions into several important 
fortresses ; ordered a levy of every fifth man ; sent to Hun- 
gary and Moravia to rally their friends there, and with amaz- 
ing energy and celerity formed a league for the defense of 
their faith. Matthias was now alarmed. He had not antici- 
pated such energetic action, and he hastened to Presburg, the 
capital of Hungary, to secure, if possible, a firm seat upon the 
throne. A large force of richly caparisoned troops followed 
him, and he entered the capital with splendor, which he hoped 
would dazzle the Hungarians. The regal crown and regalia, 
studded with priceless jewels, which belonged to Hungary, he 
took with him, with great parade. Hungary had been de- 
prived of these treasures, which were the pride of the nation, 
for seventy years. But the Protestant nobles were not to be 
cajoled with such tinsel. They remained firm in their de- 
mands, and refused to accept him as their sovereign nntil the 
promised toleration was granted. Their claims were very 
distinct and intelligible, demanding full toleration for both 
Calvinists and Lutherans, and equal eligibility for Protestants 






RHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 207 

with Catholics, to all governmental offices ; none but native 
Hungarians were to be placed in office ; the king was to reside 
in Hungary, and when necessarily absent, was to intrust the 
government to a regent, chosen jointly by the king and the 
nobles ; Jesuits were not to be admitted into the kingdom ; 
no foreign troops were to be admitted, unless there was war 
with the Turks, and the king was not to declare war without 
the consent of the nobles. 

Matthias was very reluctant to sign such conditions, for he 
was very jealous of his newly-acquired power as a sovereign. 
But a refusal would have exposed him to a civil war, with such 
forces arrayed against him as to render the result at least 
doubtful. The Austrian States were already in open insur- 
rection. The emissaries of Rhodolph were busy, fanning the 
flames of discontent, and making great promises to those who 
would restore Rhodolph to the throne. Intolerant and odious 
as Rhodolph had been, his great reverses excited sympathy, 
and many were disposed to regard Matthias but as a usurper. 
Thus influenced, Matthias not only signed all the conditions, 
but was also constrained to carry them into immediate execu- 
tion. These conditions being fulfilled, the nobles met on the 
19th of November, 1606, and elected Matthias king, and in- 
augurated him with the customary forms. 

Matthias now returned to Vienna, to quell the insurrection 
in the Austrian States. The two countries were so entirely 
independent of each other, though now under the same ruler, 
that he had no fear that his Hungarian subjects would inter- 
fere at all in the internal administration of Austria. Matthias 
was resolved to make up for the concessions he had granted 
the Hungarians, by ruling with more despotic sway in Austria. 
The pope proffered him his aid. The powerful bishops of 
Passau and Vienna assured him of efficient support, and en- 
couraged the adoption of energetic measures. Thus strength- 
ened Matthias, who was so pHant and humble in Hungary, 
assumed the most haughty airs of the sovereign in Austria. 



208 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

He peremptorily ordered the Protestants to be silent, and tc 
cease their murmurings, or he would visit them with the most 
exemplary punishment. 

North-east of the duchy of Austria, and lying between the 
kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, was the province of 
Moravia. This territory was about the size of the State of 
Massachusetts, and its chief noble, or governor, held the title 
of margrave, or marquis. Hence the province, which belonged 
to the Austrian empire, was called the margraviate of Mo- 
ravia. It contained a population of a little over a million. 
The nobles of Moravia immediately made common cause with 
those of Austria, for they knew that they must share the same 
fate. Matthias was again alarmed, and brought to terms. On 
the 16th of March, 1609. he signed a capitulation, which re- 
stored to all the Austrian provinces all the toleration which 
they had enjoyed under Maximilian II. The nobles then, of all 
the States of Austria, took the oath of allegiance to Matthias. 

The ambitious monarch, having thus far succeeded, looked 
with a covetous eye towards Transylvania. That majestic 
province, on the eastern borders of Hungary, being three times 
the size of Massachusetts, and containing a population of about 
two millions, would prove a splendid addition to the Hun- 
garian kingdom. While Matthias was secretly encouraging 
what in modern times and republican parlance is called a 
fillibustering expedition, for the sake of annexing Transyl- 
vania to the area of Hungary, a new object of ambition, and 
one still more alluring, opened before him. 

The Protestants in Bohemia were quite excited when they 
heard of the great privileges which their brethren in Hungary, 
and in the Austrian provinces had extorted from Matthias. 
This rendered them more restless under the intolerable bur- 
dens imposed upon them. Soon after the armies of Matthias 
had withdrawn from Bohemia, Rhodolph, according to his 
promise, summoned a diet to deliberate upon the state of af- 
fairs. The Protestants, who despised Rhodolph, attended the 



EHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 209 

diet, resolved to demand reform, and, if necessary, to seek it 
by force of arms. They at once assumed a bold front, and 
refused to discuss any civil affairs whatever, until the freedom 
of religious worship, which they had enjoyed under Maximil- 
ian, was restored to tliem. But Rhodolph, infatuated, and 
under the baleful influence of the Jesuits, refused to listen to 
their appeal. 

Matthias, informed of this state of affairs, saw that there 
was a fine opportunity for him to place himself at the head of 
the Protestants, who constituted not only a majority in Bohe- 
mia, but were also a majority in the diet. He therefore sent 
his emissaries among them to encourage them with assurances 
of his sympathy and aid. The diet which Rhodolph had sum- 
moned, separated without coming to other result than rousing 
thoroughly the spirit of the Protestants. They boldly called 
another diet to meet in May, in the city of Prague itself, un- 
der the very shadow of the palace of Rhodolph, and sent dep- 
uties to Matthias, and to the Protestant princes generally of 
the German empire, soliciting their support. Rhodolph issued 
a proclamation forbidding them to meet. Regardless of this 
injunction they met, at the appointed time and place, opened 
the meeting with imposing ceremonies, and made quiet prep- 
aration to repel force with force. These preparations were so 
effectually made that upon an alarm being given that the troops 
of Rhodolph were approaching to disperse the assembly, in less 
than an hour twelve hundred mounted knights and more than 
ten thousand foot soldiers surrounded their hall as a guard. 

This was a very broad hint to the emperor, and it surpris- 
ingly enlightened him. He began to bow and to apologize, 
and to asserverate upon his word of honor that he meant to do 
what was right, and from denunciations, he passed by a single 
step to cajolery and fawning. It was, however, only his in- 
tention to gain time till he could secure the cooperation of the 
pope, and other Catholic princes. The Protestants, however, 
were not to be thus deluded. As unmindful of his protesta- 



210 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

tions as they had been of his menaces, they proceeded resO' 
lutely in establishing an energetic organization for the defense 
of their civil and religious rights. They decreed the levying 
of an army, and appointed three of the most distinguished 
nobles as generals. The decree was hardly passed before it 
was carried into execution, and an army of three thousand 
foot soldiers, and two thousand horsemen was assembled as by 
magic, and their numbers were daily increasing. 

Rhodolph, still cloistered in his palace, looked with amaze- 
ment upon this rising storm. He had no longer energy for 
any decisive action. With mulish obstinacy he would con- 
cede nothing, neither had he force of character to marshal 
any decisive resistance. But at last he saw that the hand of 
Matthias was also in the movement ; that his ambitious, unre- 
lenting brother was cooperating with his foes, and would inev- 
itably hurl him from the throne of Bohemia, as he had already 
done from the kingdom of Hungary and from the dukedom of 
Austria. He was panic-stricken by this sudden revelation, 
and in the utmost haste issued a decree, dated July 5th, 1609, 
granting to the Protestants full toleration of religious worship, 
and every other right they had demanded. The despotic old 
king became all of a sudden as docile and pliant as a child. 
He assured his faithful and well-beloved Protestant subjects that 
they might worship God in their own chapels without any mo- 
lestation ; that they might build churches ; that they might es- 
tablish schools for their children ; that their clergy might meet 
in ecclesiastical councils ; that they might choose chiefs, who 
6hould be confirmed by the sovereign, to watch over their 
religious privileges and to guard against any infringement of 
this edict ; and finally, all ordinances contrary to this act of free 
and full toleration, which might hereafter be issued, either by 
the present sovereign or any of his successors, were declared 
null and void. 

The Protestants behaved nobly in this hour of bloodless 
triumph. Then* demands were reasonable and honorable, and 



EHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 211 

they sought no infringement whatever of the rights of others. 
Their brethren of Silesia had aided them in this great achieve- 
ment. The duchy of Silesia was then dependent upon Bohe- 
mia, and was just north of Moldavia. It contained a popula- 
tion of about a million and a half, scattered over a territory 
of about fifteen thousand square miles. The Protestants de- 
manded that the Silesians should share in the decree. " Most 
certainly," replied the amiable Rhodolph. An act of general 
amnesty for ail political offenses was then passed, and peace 
was restored to Germany. 

Never was more forcibly seen, than on this occasion, the 
power of the higher classes over the masses of the people. In 
fact, popular tumults, disgraceful mobs, are almost invariably 
excited by the higher classes, who push the mob on while they 
themselves keep in the background. It was now for the in- 
terest of the leaders, both Catholic and Protestant, that there 
should be peace, and the populace immediately imbibed that 
spirit. The Protestant chapel stood by the side of the Romish 
cathedral, and the congregations mingled freely in courtesy and 
kindness, as they passed to and from their places of worship. Mu- 
tual forbearance and good will seemed at once to be restored. 
And now the several cities of the German empire, where 
religious freedom had been crushed by the emperor, began to 
throng his palace with remonstrants and demands. They, uni- 
ted, resolved at every hazard to attain the privileges which 
their brethren in Bohemia and Austria had secured. The 
Prince of Anhalt, an able and intrepid man, was dispatched to 
Prague with a list of grievances. In very plain language he 
inveighed against the government of the emperor, and de- 
manded for Donauworth and other cities of the German empire, 
the civil and religious freedom of which Rhodolph had de- 
prived them ; declaring, without any softening of expression, 
that if the emperor did not peacefully grant their requests, 
they would seok redress by force of arms. The humiliated 
and dishonored emperor tried to pacify the prince by vague 



212 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

promises and honeyed words, to which the prince replied in 
language which at once informed the emperor that the time for 
dalliance had passed. 

"I fear," said the Prince of Anhalt, in words which sov- 
ereigns are not accustomed to hear, " that this answer will 
rather tend to j)rolong the dispute than to tranquillize the united 
princes. I am bound in duty to represent to your imperial 
majesty the dangerous flame which I now see bursting forth 
in Germany. Your counselors are ill adapted to extinguish 
this rising flame — those counselors who have brought you 
into such imminent danger, and who have nearly destroyed 
public confidence, credit and prosperity throughout your do- 
minions. I must likewise exhort your imperial majesty to 
take all important affairs into consideration yourself, intreat- 
ing you to recollect the example of Julius Caesar, who, had he 
not neglected to read the note presented to him as he was 
going to the capitol, would not have received the twenty 
wounds which caused his death." 

This last remark threw the emperor into a paroxysm of 
terror. He had long been trembling from the apprehension 
of assassination. This allusion to Julius Cassar he considered 
an intimation that his hour was at hand. His terror was so 
great that Prince Anhalt had to assure him, again and again, 
that he intended no such menace, and that he was not aware 
that any conspiracy was thought of any where, for his death. 
The emperor was, however, so alarmed that he promised any 
thing and every thing. He doubtless intended to fulfill his 
promise, but subsequent troubles arose which absorbed all 
his remaining feeble energies, and obliterated past engage- 
ments from his mind. 

Matthias was watching all the events with the intensest 
eagerness, as affording a brilliant prospect to him, to obtain 
the crown of Bohemia, and the scepter of the empire. This 
ambition consumed his days and his nights, verifying the ad- 
age, " uneasy lies the head which wears a crown." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

RHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 

From 1609 to 1612. 

Difficulties as to the Succession. — Hostility of Henry IV. to the House of Aus- 
tria. — Assassination of Henry IV. — Similarity in Sully's and Napoleon's 
Plans. — Exultation of the Catholics. — The Brothers' Compact. — How Rho- 

DOLPH KEPT IT. — SEIZURE OF PRAGUE. — RlIODOLPn A PRISONER. — TlIE KING'S AB- 
DICATION. — Conditions attached to the Crown.— Rage of Rhodolph. — Matthias 
elected King. — The Emperor's Residence. — Rejoicings of the Protestants. — 
Reply of the Ambassadors. — The Nuremburg Diet. — The unkindest Cut ov 

ALL.— RhODOLPH'S HUMILIATION AND DEATH. 

AND now suddenly arose another question which threat- 
ened to involve all Europe in war. The Duke of Cleves, 
Juliers, and Berg died without issue. This splendid duchy, 
or rather combination of duchies, spread over a territory of 
several thousand square miles, and was inhabited by over a 
million of inhabitants. There were many claimants to the 
succession, and the question was so singularly intricate and 
involved, that there were many who seemed to have an equal 
right to the possession. The emperor, by virtue of his im- 
perial authority, issued an edict, putting the territory in se- 
questration, till the question should be decided by the proper 
tribunals, and, in the meantime, placing the territory in the 
hands of one of his own family as administrator. 

This act, together with the known wishes of Spain to pre- 
vent so important a region, lying near the Netherlands, from 
falling into the hands of the Protestants, immediately changed 
the character of the dispute into a religious contest, and, as 
by magic, all Europe wheeled into line on the one side or the 
other. Every other question was lost sight of, in the all- 



214 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

absorbing one, Shall the duchy fall into the hands of the Pro < 
estants or the Catholics ? 

Henry IV. of France zealously espoused the cause of the 
Protestants. He was very hostile to the house of Austria for 
the assistance it had lent to that celebrated league which for so 
many years had deluged France in blood, and kept Henry IV. 
from the throne ; and he was particularly anxious to humble 
that proud power. Though Henry IV., after fighting for 
many years the battles of Protestantism, had, from motives 
of policy, avowed the Romish faith, he could never forget his 
mother's instructions, his early predilections and his old friends 
and supporters, the Protestants ; and his sympathies were al- 
ways with them. Henry IV., as sagacious and energetic as 
he was ambitious, saw that he could never expect a more fa- 
vorable moment to strike the house of Austria than the one 
then presented. The Emperor Rhodolph was weak, and 
universally unpopular, not only with his own subjects, but 
throughout Germany. The Protestants were all inimical to 
him, and he was involved in desperate antagonism with his 
energetic brother Matthias. Still he was a formidable foe, as, 
in a war involving religious questions, he could rally around 
him all the Catholic powers of Europe. 

Henry IV., preparatory to pouring his troops into the 
German empire, entered into secret negotiations with Eng- 
land, Denmark, Switzerland, Venice, whom he easily pur- 
chased with offers of plunder, and with the Protestant princes 
of minor power on the continent. There were not a few, in- 
different upon religious matters, who were ready to engage in 
any enterprise which would humble Spain and Austria. Henry 
collected a large force on the frontiers of Germany, and, with 
ample materials of war, was prepared, at a given signal, to 
burst into the territory of the empire. 

The Catholics watched these movements with alarm, and 
began also to organize. Rhodolph, who, from his position as 
emperor, should have been their leader, was a wretched hy- 



BHODOIPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 215 

pochondriac, trembling before imaginary terrors, a prey to 
the most gloomy superstitions, and still concealed in the se- 
cret chambers of his palace. He was a burden to his party, 
and was regarded by them with contempt. Matthias was 
watching him, as the tiger watches its prey. To human eyes 
it would appear that the destiny of the house of Austria was 
sealed. Just at that critical point, one of those unexpected 
events occurred, which so often rise to thwart the deepest 
laid schemes of man. 

On the 14th of May, 1610, Henry IV. left the Louvre in 
his carriage to visit his prime minister, the illustrious Sully, 
who was sick. The city was thronged with the multitudes 
assembled to witness the triumphant entry of the queen, who 
had just been crowned. It was a beautiful spring morning, 
and the king sat in his carriage wi f b several of his nobles, the 
windows of his carriage being drawn up. Just as the carriage 
was turning up from the rue St. Honore into the rue Fer- 
ronnerie, the passage was found blocked up by two carts. 
The moment the carriage stopped, a man sprung from the 
crowd upon one of the spokes of the wheel, and grasping a 
part of the coach with his right hand, with his left plunged 
a dagger to the hilt into the heart of Henry IV. Instantly 
withdrawing it, he repeated the blow, and with nervous 
strength again penetrated the heart. The king dropped dead 
into the arms of his friends, tne blood gushing from the 
wound and from his mouth. The wretched assassin, a fanatic 
monk, Francis Ravaillac, was immediately seized by the guard. 
With difficulty they protected him from being torn in pieces 
by the populace. He was reserved for a more terrible fate, 
and was subsequently put to death by the most frightful tor- 
tures human ingenuity could devise. 

The poniard of the assassin changed the fate of Europe. 
Henry IV. had formed one of the grandest plans which ever 
entered the human mind. Though it is not at all probable 
that he could have executed it, the attempt, with the immense 



216 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

means he had at his disposal, and with his energy as a warrior 
and diplomatist, would doubtless have entirely altered the 
aspect of human affairs. There was very much in his plan to 
secure the approval of all those enlightened men who were 
mourning over the incessant and cruel wars with which Eu- 
rope was ever desolated. His intention was to reconstruct 
Europe into fifteen States, as nearly uniform in size and power 
as possible. These States were, according to their own choice, 
to be monarchical or republican, and were to be associated on 
a plan somewhat resembling that of the United States of 
North America. In each State the majority were to decide 
which religion, whether Protestant or Catholic, should be es- 
tablished. The Catholics were all to leave the Protestant 
States, and assemble in their own. In like manner the Prot- 
estants were to abandon the Catholic kingdoms. This was 
the very highest point to which the spirit of toleration had 
then attained. All Pagans and Mohammedans were to be 
driven out of Europe into Asia. A civil tribunal was to be 
organized to settle all national difficulties, so that there should 
be no more war. There w T as to be a standing army belonging 
to the confederacy, to preserve the peace, and enforce its de- 
crees, consisting of two hundred and seventy thousand in- 
fantry, fifty thousand cavalry, two hundred cannon, and one 
hundred and twenty ships of war. 

This plan was by no means so chimerical as at first glance 
it might seem to be. The sagacious Sully examined it in all 
its details, and gave it his cordial support. The cooperation 
of two or three of the leading powers would have invested 
the plan with sufficient moral and physical support to render 
its success even probable. But the single poniard of the 
monk Ravaillac arrested it all. 

The Emperor Napoleon I. had formed essentially the same 
plan, with the same humane desire to put an end to intermin 
able wars ; but he had adopted far nobler principles of tolera- 
tion. 



EHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 217 

" One of my great plans," said he at St. Helena, " was the 
rejoining, the concentration of those same geographical nations 
which have been disunited and parcelled out by revolution and 
policy. There are dispersed in Europe upwards of thirty mil- 
lions of French, fifteen millions of Spaniards, fifteen millions of 
Italians, and thirty millions of Germans. It was my intention 
to incorporate these several people each into one nation. It 
would have been a noble thing to have advanced into posterity 
with such a train, and attended by the blessings of future ages, 
I felt myself worthy of this glory. 

"After this summary simplification, it would have been 
possible to indulge the chimera of the beau ideal of civiliza- 
tion. In this state of things there would have been some 
chance of establishing in every country a unity of codes, of 
principles, of opinions, of sentiments, views and interests. 
Then perhaps, by the help of the universal diffusion of knowl- 
edge, one might have thought of attempting in the great hu- 
man family the application of the American Congress, or the 
Amphictyons of Greece. What a perspective of power, gran- 
deur, happiness and prosperity would thus have appeared. 

" The concentration of thirty or forty millions of French- 
men was completed and perfected. That of fifteen millions of 
Spaniards was nearly accomplished. Because I did not sub- 
due the Spaniards, it will henceforth be argued that they were 
invincible, for nothing is more common than to convert acci- 
dent into principle. But the fact is that they were actually 
conquered, and, at the very moment when they escaped me, 
the Cortes of Cadiz were secretly in treaty with me. They 
were not delivered either by their own resistance or by the 
efforts of the English, but by the reverses which I sustained at 
different points, and, above all, by the error I committed in 
transferring my whole forces to the distance of three thou- 
sand miles from them. Had it not been for this, the Span- 
ish government would have been shortly consolidated, the 
public mind would have been <**anquilized, and hostile parties 



218 THE HOUSE OP AUSTKIA. 

would have been rallied together. Three or four years would 
have restored the Spaniards to profound peace and brilliant 
prosperity. They would have become a compact nation, and 
I should have well deserved their gratitude, for I should have 
saved them from the tyranny by which they are now oppressed, 
and the terrible agitations which await them. 

" With regard to the fifteen millions of Italians, their con- 
centration was already far advanced ; it only wanted maturity. 
The people were daily becoming more firmly established in 
the unity of principles and legislation, and also in the unity of 
thought and feeling — that certain and infallible cement of hu- 
man thought and concentration. The union of Piedmont to 
France, and the junction of Parma, Tuscany and Rome, were, 
in my mind, only temporary measures, intended merely to 
guarantee and promote the national education of the Italians. 
The portions of Italy that were united to France, though that 
union might have been regarded as the result of invasion on 
our part, were, in spite of their Italian patriotism, the very 
places that continued most attached to us. 

" All the south of Europe, therefore, would soon have been 
rendered compact in point of locality, views, opinions, senti- 
ments and interests. In this state of things, what would have 
been the weight of all the nations of the North ? What hu- 
man efforts could have broken through so strong a barrier ? 
The concentration of the Germans must have been effected 
more gradually, and therefore I had done no more than sim- 
plify their monstrous complication. Not that they were un- 
prepared for concentralization ; on the contrary, they were 
too well prepared for it, and they might have blindly risen in 
reaction against us before they had comprehended our de- 
signs. How happens it that no German prince has yet formed 
a just notion of the spirit of his nation, and turned it to good 
account ? Certainly if Heaven* had made me a prince of Ger- 
many, amid the critical events of our times I should infallibly 
have governed the thirty millions of Germans combined; and, 



RHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS- 219 

from what I know of them, I think I may venture to affirm 
that if they had once elected and proclaimed me they would not 
have forsaken me, and I should never have been at St. Helena. 

" At all events," the emperor continued, after a moment's 
pause, " this concentration will be brought about sooner or 
later by the very force of events. The impulse is given, and 
I think that since my fall and the destruction of my system, no 
grand equilibrium can possibly be established in Europe except 
by the concentration and confederation of the principal na- 
tions. The sovereign who in the first great conflict shall sin- 
cerely embrace the cause of the people, will find himself at the 
head of Europe, and may attempt whatever he pleases." 

Thus similar were the plans of these two most illustrious 
men. But from this digression let us return to the affairs of 
Austria. With the death of Henry IV., fell the stupendous 
plan which his genius conceived, and which his genius alone 
could execute. The Protestants, all over Europe, regarded 
his death as a terrible blow. Still they did not despair of se- 
curing the contested duchy for a Protestant prince. The fall 
of Henry IV. raised from the Catholics a shout of exultation, 
and they redoubled their zeal. 

The various princes of the house of Austria, brothers, un 
cles, cousins, holding important posts all over the empire, were 
much alarmed in view of the peril to which the family ascend- 
ing was exposed by the feebleness of Rhodolph. They held 
a private family conference, and decided that the interests of 
all required that there should be reconciliation between Mat- 
thias and Rhodolph ; or that, in their divided state, they would 
fall victims to their numerous foes. The brothers agreed to 
an outward reconciliation ; but there was not the slightest miti- 
gation of the rancor which filled their hearts. Matthias, how 
ever, consented to acknowledge the superiority of his brother, 
the emperor, to honor him as the head of the family, and to 
hold his possessions as fiefs of Rhodolph intrusted to him by 
favor. Rhodolph, while hating Matthias, and watching for an 



220 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

opportunity to crush him, promised to regard him hereafter as 
a brother and a friend. 

And now Rhodolph developed unexpected energy, ming- 
led with treachery and disgraceful duplicity. He secretly and 
treacherously invited the Archduke Leopold, who was also 
Bishop of Passau and Strasbourg, and one of the most bigoted 
of the warrior ecclesiastics of the papal church, to invade, with 
an army of sixteen thousand men, Rhodolph's own kingdom 
of Bohemia, under the plea that the wages of the soldiers had 
not been paid. It was his object, by thus introducing an ar- 
my of Roman Catholics into his kingdom, and betraying into 
their hands several strong fortresses, then to place himself at 
their head, rally the Catholics of Bohemia around him, annul 
all the edicts of toleration, crush the Protestants, and then to 
march to the punishment of Matthias. 

The troops, in accordance with their treacherous plan, burst 
into Upper Austria, where the emperor had provided that 
there should be no force to oppose them. They spread them- 
selves over the country, robbing the Protestants and destroy- 
ing their property with the most wanton cruelty. Crossing 
the Danube they continued their march and entered Bohemia. 
Still Rhodolph kept quiet in his palace, sending no force to 
oppose, but on the contrary contriving that towns and for- 
tresses, left defenseless, should fall easily into their hands. 
Bohemia was in a terrible state of agitation. Wherever the 
invading army appeared, it wreaked dire vengeance upon the 
Protestants. The leaders of the Protestants hurriedly ran to- 
gether, and, suspicious of treachery, sent an earnest appeal to 
the king. 

The infamous emperor, not yet ready to lay aside the vail, 
called Heaven to witness that the irruption was made without 
his knowledge, and advised vigorous measures to repel the foe, 
while he carefully thwarted the execution of any such meas- 
ures. At the same time he issued a proclamation to Leopold, 
commanding him to retire. Leopold understood all this be- 



EHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 221 

forehand, and smiling, pressed on. Aided by the treason of 
the king, they reached Prague, seized one of the gates, mas- 
sacred the guard, and took possession of the capital. The 
emperor now came forward and disclosed his plans. The for- 
eign troops, holding Prague and many other of the most im- 
portant towns and fortresses in the kingdom, took the oath of 
allegiance to Rhodolph as their sovereign, and he placed in 
their hands five pieces of heavy artillery, which were planted 
in battery on an eminence which commanded the town. A 
part of Bohemia rallied around the king in support of these 
atrocious measures. 

But all the Protestants, and all who had any sympathy with 
the Protestants, were exasperated to the highest pitch. They 
immediately dispatched messengers to Matthias and to their 
friends in Moravia, imploring aid. Matthias immediately start- 
ed eight thousand Hungarians on the march. As they en- 
tered Bohemia with rapid steps and pushed their way toward 
Prague they were joined every hour by Protestant levies pour- 
ing in from all quarters. So rapidly did their ranks increase 
that Leopold's troops, not daring to await their arrival, in a 
panic, fled by night. They were pursued on their retreat, at- 
tacked, and put to flight with the loss of two thousand men. 
The ecclesiastical duke, in shame and confusion, slunk away to 
his episcopal castle of Passau. 

The contemptible Rhodolph now first proposed terms of 
reconciliation, and then implored the clemency of his indig- 
nant conquerors. They turned from the overtures of the per- 
jured monarch with disdain, burst into the city of Prague, 
surrounded every avenue to the palace, and took Rhodolph a 
prisoner. Soon Matthias arrived, mounted in regal splendor, 
at the head of a gorgeous retinue. The army received him 
with thunders of acclaim. Rhodolph, a captive in his palace, 
heard the explosion of artillery, the ringing of bells and the 
shouts of the populace, welcoming his dreaded and detested 
rival to the capital. It was the 20th of March, 1611. 



222 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

The nobles commanded Rhodolph to summon a diet. The 
humiliated, degraded, helpless emperor knew full well what 
this signified, but dared not disobey. He summoned a diet. 
It was immediately convened. Rhodolph sent in a message, 
saying, 

" Since, on account of my advanced age, I am no longer 
capable of supporting the weight of government, I hereby 
abdicate the throne, and earnestly desire that my brother Mat- 
thias may be crowned without delay." 

The diet were disposed very promptly to gratify the king 
in his expressed wishes. But there arose some very formida- 
ble difficulties. The German princes, who were attached to 
the cause which Rhodolph had so cordially espoused, and who 
foresaw that his fall threatened the ascendency of Protestant- 
ism throughout the empire, sent their ambassadors to the Bo- 
hemian nobles with the menace of the vengeance of the em- 
pire, if they proceeded to the deposition of Rhodolph and to 
the inauguration of Matthias, whom they stigmatized as an 
usurper. This unexpected interposition reanimated the hopes 
of Rhodolph, and he instantly found such renovation of youth 
and strength as to feel quite able to bear the burden of the 
crown a little longer ; and consequently, notwithstanding his 
abdication, through his friends, all the most accomplished 
mechanism of diplomacy, with its menaces, its bribes, and its 
artifice were employed to thwart the movements of Matthias 
and his friends. 

There was still another very great difficulty. Matthias 
was very ambitious, and wished to be a sovereign, with sov- 
ereign power. He was very reluctant to surrender the least 
portion of those prerogatives which his regal ancestors had 
grasped. But the nobles deemed this a favorable opportunity 
to regain their lost power. They were disposed to make a 
hard bargain with Matthias. They demanded — 1st, that the 
throne should no longer be hereditary, but elective ; 2d, that 
the nobles should be permitted to meet in a diet, or congress, 



EHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 223 

to deliberate upon public affairs whenever and wherever they 
pleased ; 3d, that all financial and military affairs should be 
left in their hands ; 4th, that although the king might appoint 
all the great officers of state, they might remove any of 
them at pleasure; 5th, that it should be the privilege of the 
nobles to form all foreign alliances ; 6th, that they were to be 
empowered to form an armed force by their own authority. 

Matthias hesitated in giving his assent to such demands, 
which seemed to reduce him to a cipher, conferring upon 
him only the shadow of a crown. "Rhodolph, however, who 
was eager to make any concessions, had his agents busy 
through the diet, with assurances that the emperor would 
grant all these concessions. But Rhodolph had fallen too 
low to rise again. The diet spurned all his offers, and chose 
Matthias, though he postponed his decision upon these ar- 
ticles until he could convene a future and more general diet. 
Rhodolph had eagerly caught at the hope of regaining his 
crown. As his messengers returned to him in the palace with 
the tidings of their defeat, he was overwhelmed with indigna- 
tion, shame and despair. In a paroxysm of agony he threw 
up his window, and looking out upon the city, exclaimed, 

" O Prague, unthankful Prague, who hast been so highly 
elevated by me ; now thou spurnest at thy benefactor. May 
the curse and vengeance of God fall upon thee and all Bo- 
hemia." 

The 23d of May was appointed for the coronation. The 
nobles drew up a paper, which they required Rhodolph to 
sign, absolving his subjects from their oath of allegiance to 
him. The degraded king writhed in helpless indignation, for 
he was a captive. With the foolish petulance of a spoiled child, 
as he affixed his signature in almost an illegible scrawl, he 
dashed blots of ink upon the paper, and then, tearing the pen 
to pieces, threw it upon the floor, and trampled it beneath his 
feet. 

It was still apprehended that the adherents of Rhodolph 



224 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

might make some armed demonstration in Lis favor. As a 
precaution against this, the city was filled with troops, the 
gates closed, and carefully guarded. The nobles met in the 
great hall of the palace. It was called a meeting of the 
States, for it included the higher nobles, the higher clergy, 
and a few citizens, as representatives of certain privileged 
cities. The forced abdication of Rhodolph was first read. It 
was as follows : — 

" In conformity with the humble request of the States of 
our kingdom, we graciously declare the three estates, as well 
as all the inhabitants of all ranks and conditions, free from all 
subjection, duty and obligation ; and we release them from 
their oath of allegiance, which they have taken to us as their 
king, with a view to prevent all future dissensions and con- 
fusion. We do this for the greater security and advantage 
of the whole kingdom of Bohemia, over which we have ruled 
six-and-thirty years, where we have almost always resided, 
and which, during our administration, has been maintained in 
peace, and increased in riches and splendor. We accordingly, 
in virtue of this present voluntary resignation, and after due 
reflection, do, from this day, release our subjects from all duty 
and obligation." 

Matthias was then chosen king, in accordance with all the 
ancient customs of the hereditary monarchy of Bohemia. The 
States immediately proceeded to his coronation. Every ef- 
fort was made to dazzle the multitude with the splendors of 
the coronation, and to throw a halo of glory around the 
event, not merely as the accession of a new monarch to the 
throne, but as the introduction of a great reform in reinstating 
the nation in its pristine rights. 

While the capital was resounding with these rejoicings, 
Rhodolph had retired to a villa at some distance from the city, 
in a secluded glen among the mountains, that he might close 
his ears against the hateful sounds. The next day Matthias, 
fraternally or maliciously, for it is not easy to judge which 



EHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 225 

motive actuated him, sent a stinging message of assumed grat. 
itude to his brother, thanking him for relinquishing in his 
brother's favor his throne and his palaces, and expressing the 
hope that they might still live together in fraternal confidence 
and affection. 

Matthias and the States consulted their own honor rather 
than Rhodolph's merits, in treating him with great mag- 
nanimity. Though Rhoclolph had lost, one by one, all his own 
hereditary or acquired territories, Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, 
he still retained the imperial crown of Germany. This gave 
him rank and certain official honors, with but little real power. 
The emperor, who was also a powerful sovereign in his own 
right, could marshal his own forces to establish his decrees. 
But the emperor, who had no treasury or army of his own, 
was powerless indeed. 

The emperor was permitted to occupy one of the palaces 
at Prague. He received an annual pension of nearly a mil- 
lion of dollars ; and the territories and revenues of four lord- 
ships were conferred upon him. Matthias having consoli- 
dated his government, and appointed the great officers of 
his kingdom, left Prague without having any interview with 
his brother, and returned to his central capital at Vienna, 
where he married Anne, daughter of his uncle Ferdinand 
of Tyrol. 

The Protestants all over the German empire hailed these 
events with public rejoicing. Rhodolph had been their im- 
placable foe. He was now disarmed and incapable of doing 
them any serious injury. Matthias was professedly their 
friend, had been placed in power mainly as their sovereign, 
and was now invested with such power, as sovereign of the col- 
lected realms of Austria, that he could effectually protect them 
from persecution. This success emboldened them to unite in 
a strong, wide-spread confederacy for the protection of their 
rights* The Protestant nobles and princes, with the most dis- 
tinguished of their clergy from all parts of the German em- 

10* 



226 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

pire, held a congress at Rothenbnrg. This great assembly, in 
the number, splendor and dignity of its attendants, vied with 
regal diets. Many of the most illustrious princes of the em- 
pire were there in person, with imposing retinues. The em- 
peror and Matthias both deemed it expedient to send ambas- 
sadors to the meeting. The congress at Rothenburg was one 
of the most memorable movements of the Protestant party. 
They drew up minute regulations for the government of their 
confederacy, established a system of taxation among them- 
selves, made efficient arrangements for the levying of troops, 
established arsenals and magazines, and strongly garrisoned a 
fortress, to be the nucleus of their gathering should they at 
any time be compelled to appeal to arms. 

Rhodolph, through his ambassadors, appeared before this 
resplendent assembly the mean and miserable sycophant he 
ever was in days of disaster. He was so silly as to try to win 
them again to his cause. He coaxed and made the most lib- 
eral promises, but all in vain. Their reply was indignant and 
decisive, yet dignified. 

" We have too long," they replied, " been duped by spe- 
cious and deceitful promises. We now demand actions, not 
words. Let the emperor show us by the acts of his adminis- 
tration that his spirit is changed, and then, and then only, 
can we confide in him." 

Matthias was still apprehensive that the emperor might 
rally the Catholic forces of Germany, and in union with the 
pope and the formidable power of the Spanish court, make an 
attempt to recover his Bohemian throne. It was manifest that 
with any energy of character, Rhodolph might combine Catho 
lie Europe, and inundate the plains of Germany with blood. 
While it was very important, therefore, that Matthias should 
do every thing he could to avoid exasperating the Catholics, 
it was essential to his cause that he should rally around him 
the sympathies of the Protestants. 

The ambassadors of Matthias respectfully announced to the 



EHODOLPH III. AND MATTHIAS. 227 

congress the events which had transpired in Bohemia in the 
transference of the crown, and solicited the support of the 
congress. The Protestant princes received this communication 
with satisfaction, promised their support in case it should be 
needed, and, conscious of the danger of provoking Rhodolph 
to any desperate efforts to rouse the Catholics, recommended 
that he should be treated with brotherly kindness, and, at the 
same time, watched with a vigilant eye. 

Rhodolph, disappointed here, summoned an electoral meet- 
ing of the empire, to be held at Nureniburg on the 14th of 
December, 1711. He hoped that a majority of the electors 
would be his friends. Before tins body he presented a very 
pathetic account of his grievances, delineating in most melan- 
choly colors the sorrows which attend fallen grandeur. He 
detailed his privations and necessities, the straits to 'which he 
was reduced by poverty, his utter inability to maintain a state 
befitting the imperial dignity, and implored them, with the 
eloquence of a Neapolitan mendicant, to grant him a suitable 
establishment, and not to abandon him, in his old age, to pen- 
ury and dishonor. 

The reply of the electors to the dispirited, degraded, down- 
trodden old monarch was the unkind est cut of all. Much as 
Rhodolph is to be execrated and despised, one can hardly re- 
frain from an emotion of sympathy in view of this new blow 
which fell upon him. A deputation sent from the electoral 
college met him in his palace at Prague. Mercilessly they re- 
capitulated most of the complaints which the Protestants had 
brought against him, declined rendering him any pecuniary 
relief^ and requested him to nominate some one to be chosen ' 
as his successor on the imperial throne. 

" The emperor," said the delegation in conclusion, " is him- 
self the principal author of his own distresses and misfortunes. 
The contempt into which he has fallen and the disgrace which, 
through him, is reflected upon the empire, is derived from his 
own indolence and his obstinacy in following perverse counsels. 



228 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

He might have escaped all these calamities if, instead of re- 
signing himself to corrupt and interested ministers, he had 
followed the salutary counsels of the electors." 

They closed this overwhelming announcement by demand- 
ing the immediate assembling of a diet to elect an emperor 
to succeed him on the throne of Germany. Rhodolph, not yet 
quite sufficiently humiliated to officiate as his own executioner, 
though he promised to summon a diet, evaded the fulfillment 
of his promise. The electors, not disposed to dally with him 
at all, called the assembly by their own authority to meet on 
the 31st of May. 

This seemed to be the finishing blow. Rhodolph, now 
sixty years of age, enfeebled and emaciated by disease and 
melancholy, threw himself upon his bed to die. Death, so 
often invoked in vain by the miserable, came to his aid. He 
welcomed its approach. To those around his bed he remarked, 

" When a youth, I experienced the most exquisite pleas- 
ure in returning from Spain to my native country. How much 
more joyful ought I to be when I am about to be delivered 
from the calamities of human nature, and transferred to a 
heavenly country where there is no change of time, and where 
no sorrow can enter !" 

In the tomb let him be forgotten. 



CHAPTER XV. 

MATTHIAS. 

From 1612 to 1619. 

Matthias elected Emperor of Germany.— His despotic Character.— His Plans 
thwarted. — mulheim. — gathering clouds. — family intrigue. — coronation op 
Ferdinand. — IIis Bigotry. — Henry, Count of Thurn. — Convention at Prague. 
— The King's Eeply. — The Die cast. — Amusing Defense of an Outrage. — Fer- 
dinand's Manifesto.— Seizure of Cardinal Kleses. — The King's Page. — Re- 
treat of the King's Troops. — Humiliation of Ferdinand. — The Difficulties 
referred. — Death of Matthias. 

UPON the death of Rhoclolph, Matthias promptly offered 
himself as a candidate for the imperial crown. But the 
Catholics, suspicious of Matthias, in consequence of his con- 
nection with the Protestants, centered upon the Archduke 
Albert, sovereign of the Netherlands, as their candidate. Many 
of the Protestants, also, jealous of the vast power Matthias was 
attaining, and not having full confidence in his integrity, offered 
their suffrages to Maximilian, the younger brother of Matthias. 
But notwithstanding this want of unanimity, political intrigue 
removed all difficulties and Matthias was unanimously elected 
Emperor of Germany. 

The new emperor was a man of renown. His wonderful 
achievements had arrested the attention of Europe, and it was 
expected that in his hands the administration of the empire 
would be conducted with almost unprecedented skill and vigor. 
But clouds and storms immediately began to lower around the 
throne. Matthias had no spirit of toleration in his heart, and 
every tolerant act he had assented to, had been extorted from 
him. He was, by nature, a despot, and most reluctantly, for 
the sake of grasping the reins of power, he had relinquished 



230 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

a few of the royal prerogatives. He had thus far evaded many 
of the claims which had been made upon him, and which he 
had partially promised to grant, and now, being both king and 
emperor, he was disposed to grasp all power, both secular and 
religious, which he could attain. 

Matthias's first endeavor was to recover Transylvania. This 
province had fallen into the hands of Gabriel Bethlehem, who 
was under the protection of the Turks. Matthias, thinking 
that a war with the infidel would be popular, summoned a 
diet and solicited succors to drive the Turks from Moldavia 
and Wallachia, where they had recently established themselves. 
The Protestants, however, presented a list of grievances which 
they wished to have redressed before they listened to his re- 
quest. The Catholics, on the other hand, presented a list of 
their grievances, which consisted, mainly, in privileges granted 
the Protestants, w r hich they also demanded to have redressed 
before they could vote any supplies to the emperor. These 
demands were so diametrically hostile to each other, that there 
could be no reconciliation. After an angry debate the diet 
broke up in confusion, having accomplished nothing. 

Matthias, disappointed in this endeavor, now applied to the 
several States of his widely extended Austrian domains — to 
his own subjects. A general assembly was convened at Lintz. 
Matthias proposed his plans, urging the impolicy of allowing 
the Turks to retain the conquered provinces, and to remain in 
the ascendency in Transylvania. But here again Matthias was 
disappointed. The Bohemian Protestants were indignant in 
view of some restrictions upon their worship, imposed by the 
emperor to please the Catholics. The Hungarians, weary of 
the miseries of war, were disposed on any terms to seek peace 
with the Turks. The Austrians had already expended an im- 
mense amount of blood and money on the battle-fields of Hun- 
gary, and urged the emperor to send an ambassador to treat 
for peace. Matthias was excessively annoyed in being thus 
thwarted in all his plans. 



MATTHIAS. 231 

Just at tbis time a Turkish envoy arrived at Vienna, pro- 
posing a truce for twenty years. The Turks had never before 
condescended to send an embassage to a Christian power. 
This afforded Matthias an honorable pretext for abandoning 
his warlike plan, and the truce was agreed to. 

The incessant conflict between the Catholics and Protes- 
tants allowed Germany no repose. A sincere toleration, such 
as existed during the reign of Maximilian L, established fra- 
ternal feelings between the contending parties. But it re- 
quired ages of suffering and peculiar combination of circum- 
stances, to lead the king and the nobles to a cordial consent to 
that toleration. But the bigotry of Rhodolph and the trick- 
ery of Matthias, had so exasperated the parties, and rendered 
them so suspicious of each other, that the emperor, even had 
he been so disposed, could not, but by very slow and gradual 
steps, have secured reconciliation. Rnodolph had put what 
was called the ban of the entire upon the Protestant city of 
Aix-la-Chapelle, removing the Protestants from the magistracy, 
and banishing their chiefs from the city. When Rhodolph 
was sinking into disgrace and had lost his power, the Protes- 
tants, being hi the majority, took up arms, reelected their 
magistracy, and expelled the Jesuits from the city. The 
Catholics now appealed to Matthias, and he insanely revived 
the ban against the Protestants, and commissioned Albert, 
Archduke of Cologne, a bigoted Catholic, to march with an 
army to Aix-la-Chapelle and enforce its execution. 

Opposite Cologne, on the Rhine, the Protestants, in the 
days of bitter persecution, had established the town of Mul- 
heim. Several of the neighboring Protestant princes defended 
with their arms the refugees who settled there from all parts 
of Germany. The town was strongly fortified, and here the 
Protestants, with arms in their hands, maintained perfect free- 
dom of religious worship. The city grew rapidly and became 
one of the most important fortresses upon the river. The 
Catholics, jealous of its growing power, appealed to the em- 



232 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

peror. He issued a decree ordering the Protestants to demol- 
ish every fortification of the place within thirty days ; and to 
put up no more buildings whatever. 

These decrees were both enforced by the aid of a Spanish 
army of thirty thousand men, which, having executed the ban, 
descended the river and captured several others of the most 
important of the Protestant towns. Of course all Germany 
was in a ferment. Everywhere was heard the clashing of 
arms, and every thing indicated the immediate outburst of civil 
war. Matthias was in great perplexity, and his health rap- 
idly failed beneath the burden of care and sorrow. All the 
thoughts of Matthias were now turned to the retaining of the 
triple crown of Bohemia, Hungary and the empire, in the 
family. Matthias was old, sick and childless. Maximilian, his 
next brother, was fifty-nine years of age and unmarried. The 
next brother, Albert, was fifty-eight, and without children. 
Neither of the brothers could consequently receive the crowns 
with any hope of retaining them in the family. Matthias 
turned to his cousin Ferdinand, head of the Styrian branch of 
the family, as the nearest relative who was likely to continue 
the succession. In accordance with the custom which had 
grown up, Matthias wished to nominate his successor, and 
have him recognized and crowned before his death, so that im 
mediately upon his death the new sovereign, already crowned, 
could enter upon the government without any interregnum. 

The brothers, appreciating the importance of retaining the 
crown in the family, and conscious that all the united influ- 
ence they then possessed was essential to securing that re- 
sult, assented to the plan, and cooperated in the nomination 
of Ferdinand. All the arts of diplomatic intrigue were called 
into requisition to attain these important ends. The Bo- 
hemian crown was now electoral; and it was necessary to 
persuade the electors to choose Ferdinand, one of the most 
intolerant Catholics who ever swayed a scepter. The crown 
of Hungary was nominally hereditary. But the turbulent 



MATTHIAS. 233 

nobles, ever armed, and strong in their fortresses, would ac- 
cept no monarch whom they did not approve. To secure 
also the electoral vote for Emperor of Germany, while par- 
ties were so divided and so bitterly hostile to each other, re- 
quired the most adroit application of bribes and menaces. 

Matthias made his first movement in Bohemia. Having 
adopted previous measures to gain the support of the prin- 
cipal nobles, he summoned a diet at Prague, which he at- 
tended in person, accompanied by Ferdinand. In a brief 
speech he thus addressed them. 

" As I and my brothers," said the king, " are without chil- 
dren, I deem it necessary, for the advantage of Bohemia, 
and to prevent future contests, that my cousin Ferdinand 
should be proclaimed and crowned king. I therefore request 
you to fix a day for the confirmation of this appointment." 

Some of the leading Protestants opposed this, on the 
ground of the known intolerance of Ferdinand. But the 
majority, either won over by the arts of Matthias, or dread- 
ing civil war, accepted Ferdinand. He was crowned on the 
10th of June, 1616, he promising not to interfere with the 
government during the lifetime of Matthias. The emperor 
now turned to Hungary, and, by the adoption of the same 
measures, secured the same results. The nobles accepted 
Ferdinand, and he was solemnly crowned at Presburg. 

Ferdinand was Archduke of Styria, a province of Austria 
embracing a little more than eight thousand square miles, 
being about the size of the State of Massachusetts, and con- 
taining about a million of inhabitants. He was educated by 
the Jesuits after the strictest manner of their religion. He 
became so thoroughly imbued with the spirit of his monastic 
education, that he was anxious to assume the cowl of the 
monk, and enter the order of the Jesuits. His devotion to 
the papal church assumed the aspect of the most inflexible 
intolerance towards all dissent. In the administration of the 
government of his own duchy, he had given free swing to 



234 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

his bigotry. Marshaling his troops, he had driven all the 
Protestant preachers from his domains. He had made a pil- 
grimage to Rome, to receive the benediction of the pope, and 
another to Loretto, where, prostrating himself before the mi- 
raculous image, he vowed never to cease his exertions until 
he had extirpated all heresy from his territories. He often 
declared that he would beg his bread from door to door, sub- 
mit to every insult, to every calamity, sacrifice even life itself, 
rather than suffer the true Church to be injured. Ferdinand 
was no time-server — no hypocrite. He was a genuine bigot, 
sincere and conscientious. Animated by this spirit, although 
two thirds of the inhabitants of Styria were Protestants, he 
banished all their preachers, professors and schoolmasters ; 
closed their clurches, seminaries and schools ; even tore down 
the churches and school-houses ; multiplied papal institutions, 
and called in teachers and preachers from other States. 

Matthias and Ferdinand now seemed jointly to reign, and 
the Protestants were soon alarmed by indications that a new 
spirit was animating the councils of the sovereign. The most 
inflexible Catholics were received as the friends and advisers 
of the king. The Jesuits loudly exulted, declaring that heresy 
was no longer to be tolerated. Banishments and confisca- 
tions were talked of, and the alarm of the Protestants became 
intense and universal : they looked forward to the commence- 
ment of the reign of Ferdinand with terror. 

As was to be expected, such wrongs and perils called out 
an avenger. Matthew Henry, Count of Thurn, was one of 
the most illustrious and wealthy of the Bohemian nobles. He 
had long been a warm advocate of the doctrines of the Refor- 
mation ; and having, in the wars with the Turks, acquired a 
great reputation for military capacity and courage, and being 
also a man of great powers of eloquence, and of exceedingly 
popular manners, he had become quite the idol of the Prot- 
estant party. He had zealously oj^posed the election of Fer- 
dinand to the throne of Bohemia, and had thus increased that 



MATTHIAS. 235 

jealousy and dislike with which both Matthias and Ferdinand 
had previously regarded so formidable an opponent. He was, 
in consequence, very summarily deprived of some very im- 
portant dignities. This roused his impetuous spirit, and caused 
the Protestants more confidingly to rally around him as a 
martyr to their cause. 

The Count of Thurn, as prudent as he was bold, as delib- 
erate as he was energetic, aware of the fearful hazard of en- 
tering into hostilities with the sovereign who was at the 
same time king of all the Austrian realms, and Emperor of 
Germany, conferred with the leading Protestant princes, and 
organized a confederacy so strong that all the energies of 
the empire could with difficulty crush it. They were not dis- 
posed to make any aggressive movements, but to defend their 
rights if assailed. The inhabitants of a town in the vicinity 
of Prague began to erect a church for Protestant worship. 
The Roman Catholic bishop, who presided over that diocese, 
forbade them to proceed. They plead a royal edict, which 
authorized them to erect the church, and continued their 
work, regardless of the prohibition. Count Thurn encouraged 
them to persevere, promising them ample support. The 
bishop appealed to the Emperor Matthias. He also issued 
his prohibition; but aware of the strength of the Protestants, 
did not venture to attempt to enforce it by arms. Ferdi- 
nand, however, was not disposed to yield to this spirit, and 
by his influence obtained an* order, demanding the immediate 
surrender of the church to the Catholics, or its entire demo- 
lition. The bishop attempted its destruction by an armed 
force, but the Protestants defended their property, and sent 
a committee to Matthias, petitioning for a revocation of the 
mandate. These deputies were seized and imprisoned by the 
king, and an imperial force was sent to the town, Brunau, to 
take possession of the church. From so small a beginning 
rose the Thirty Years' War. 

Count Thurn immediately summoned a convention of six 



2-36 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

delegates from each of the districts, called circles in Bohemia. 
The delegates met at Prague on the 16th of March, 1618. 
An immense concourse of Protestants from all parts of the sur- 
rounding country accompanied the' delegates to the capital. 
Count Thurn was a man of surpassing eloquence, and seemed 
to control at will all the passions of the human heart. In the 
boldest strains of eloquence he addressed the assembly, and 
roused them to the most enthusiastic resolve to defend at all 
hazards their civil and religious rights. They unanimously 
passed a resolve that the demolition of the church and the sus- 
pension of the Protestant worship were violations of the royal 
edict, and they drew up a petition to the emperor demand- 
ing the redress of this grievance, and the liberation of the 
imprisoned deputies from Brunau. The meeting then ad- 
journed, to be reassembled soon to hear the reply of the em- 
peror. 

As the delegates and the multitudes who accompanied 
them returned to their homes, they spread everywhere the im- 
pression produced upon their minds by the glowing eloquence 
of Count Thurn. The Protestant mind was roused to the 
highest pitch by the truthful representation, that the court had 
adojrted a deliberate plan for the utter extirpation of Protes- 
tant worship throughout Bohemia, and that foreign troops 
were to be brought in to execute this decree. These convic- 
tions were strengthened and the alarm increased by the defiant 
reply which Matthias sent back from his palace in Vienna to 
his Bohemian subjects. He accused the delegates of treason 
and of circulating false and slanderous reports, and declared 
that they should be punished according to their deserts. He 
forbade them to meet again, or to interfere in any way with 
the affairs of Brunau, stating that at his leisure he would re- 
pair to Prague and attend to the business himself. 

The king could not have framed an answer better calcu- 
lated to exasperate the people, and rouse them to the most 
determined resistance. Count Thurn, regardless of the pro 



MATTHIAS. 237 

hibition, called the delegates together and read to them the 
answer, which the king had not addressed to them but to the 
council of regency. He then addressed them again in those 
impassioned strains which he had ever at command, and 
roused them almost to fury against those Catholic lords who 
had dictated this answer to the king and obtained his sig- 
nature. 

The next day the nobles met again. They came to the 
place of meeting thoroughly armed and surrounded by their 
retainers, prepared to repel force by force. Count Thurn now 
wished to lead them to some act of hostility so decisive that 
they would be irrecoverably committed. The king's council 
of regency was then assembled in the palace of Prague. The 
regency consisted of seven Catholics and three Protestants. 
For some unknown reason the Protestant lords were not pres- 
ent on this occasion. Three of the members of the regency, 
Slavata and Martinetz and the burgrave of Prague, were pecu- 
liarly obnoxious on account of the implacable spirit with which 
they had ever persecuted the reformers. These lords were the 
especial friends of Ferdinand and had great influence with 
Matthias, and it was not doubted that they had framed the 
answer which the emperor had returned. Incited by Count 
Thurn, several of the most resolute of the delegates, led by 
the count, proceeded to the palace, and burst into the room 
where the regency was in session. 

Their leader, addressing Slavata, Martinetz, and Diepold, 
the burgrave, said, " Our business is with you. We wish to 
know if you are responsible for the answer returned to us by 
the king." 

" That," one of them replied, " is a secret of state which 
we are not bound to reveal." 

" Let us follow," exclaimed the Protestant chief, " the an- 
cient custom of Bohemia, and hurl them from the window." 

They were in a room in the tower of the castle, and it was 
eighty feet to the water of the moat. The Catholic lords were 



238 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

instantly seized, dragged to the window and thrust out. Al- 
most incredible as it may seem, the water and the mud of 
the moat so broke their fall, that neither of them was killed. 
They all recovered from the effects of their fall. Having per- 
formed this deed, Count Thurn and his companions returned 
to the delegates, informed them of what they had done, and 
urged them that the only hope of safety now, for any Protes- 
tant, was for all to unite in open and desperate resistance. Then 
mounting his horse, and protected by a strong body-guard, he 
rode through the streets of Prague, stopping at every cor- 
ner to harangue the Protestant populace. The city was 
thronged on the occasion by Protestants from all parts of the 
kingdom. 

"I do not," he exclaimed, "propose myself as your chief, 
but as your companion, in that peril which will lead us to 
happy freedom or to glorious death. The die is thrown. It 
is too late to recall what is past. Your safety depends alone 
on unanimity and courage, and if you hesitate to burst asun- 
der your chains, you have no alternative but to perish by the 
hands of the executioner." 

He was everywhere greeted with shouts of enthusiasm, 
and the whole Protestant population were united as one man 
in the cause. Even many of the moderate Catholics, disgusted 
with the despotism of the newly elected king, which embraced 
civil as well as religious affairs, joined the Protestants, for they 
feared the loss of their civil rights more than they dreaded 
the inroads of heresy. 

With amazing celerity they now organized to repel the 
force which they knew that the emperor would immediately 
send to crush them. Within three days their plans were all 
matured and an organization effected which made the king 
tremble in his palace. Count Thurn was appointed their com- 
mander, an executive committee of thirty very efficient men 
was chosen, which committee immediately issued orders for the 
levy of troops all over the kingdom. Envoys were sent to 



MATTHIAS. 239 

Moravia, Silesia, Lusatia, and Hungary, and to the Protestants 
all over the German empire. The Archbishop of Prague was 
expelled from the city, and the Jesuits were also banished. 
They then issued a proclamation in defense of their con- 
duct, which they sent to the king with a firm but respectful 
letter. 

One can not but be amused in reading their defense of the 
outrage against the council of regency. "We have thrown 
from the windows," they said, " the two ministers who have 
been the enemies of the State, together with their creature 
and flatterer, in conformity with an ancient custom prevalent 
throughout all Bohemia, as well as in the capital. This cus- 
tom is justified by the example of Jezebel in holy Writ, who 
was thrown from a window for persecuting the people of God ; 
and it was common among the Romans, and all other nations 
of antiquity, who hurled the disturbers of the public peace 
from rocks and precipices." 

Matthias had very reluctantly sent his insulting and defi- 
ant answer to the reasonable complaints of the Protestants, 
and he was thunderstruck in contemplating the storm which 
had thus been raised — a storm which apparently no human 
wisdom could now allay. There are no energies so potent 
as those which are aroused by religious convictions. Matthias 
well knew the ascendency of the Protestants all over Bohemia, 
and that their spirit, once thoroughly aroused, could not be eas- 
ily quelled by any opposing force he could array. He was 
also aware that Ferdinand was thoroughly detested by the 
Protestant leaders, and that it was by no means improbable 
that this revolt would thwart all his plans in securing his suc- 
cession. 

As the Protestants had not renounced their allegiance, 
Matthias was strongly disposed to measures of conciliation, 
and several of the most influential, yet fair-minded Catholics 
supported him in these views. The Protestants were too nu- 
merous to be annihilated, and too strong in their desperation 



240 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

to be crushed. But Ferdinand, guided by the Jesuits, was im- 
placable. He issued a manifesto, which was but a transcript 
of his own soul, and which is really sublime in the sincerity 
and fervor of its intolerance. 

" All attempts," said he, " to bring to reason a people whom 
God has struck with judicial blindness will be in vain. Since 
the introduction of heresy into Bohemia, we have seen nothing 
but tumults, disobedience and rebellion. While the Catholics 
and the sovereign have displayed only lenity and moderation, 
these sects have become stronger, more violent and more inso- 
lent ; having gained all their objects in religious affairs, they 
turn their arms against the civil government, and attack the 
supreme authority under the pretense of conscience ; not con- 
tent with confederating themselves against their sovereign, 
they have usurped the power of taxation, and have made alli- 
ances with foreign States, particularly with the Protestant 
princes of Germany, in order to deprive him of the very means 
of reducing them to obedience. They have left nothing to the 
sovereign but his palaces and the convents ; and after their re- 
cent outrages against his ministers, and the usurpation of the 
regal revenues, no object remains for their vengeance and ra- 
pacity but the persons of the sovereign and his successor, and 
the whole house of Austria. 

" If sovereign power emanates from God, these atrocious 
deeds must proceed from the devil, and therefore must draw 
down divine punishment. Neither can God be pleased with 
the conduct of the sovereign, in conniving at or acquiescing in 
all the demands of the disobedient. Nothing now remains for 
him, but to submit to be lorded by his subjects, or to free him- 
self from this disgraceful slavery before his territories are 
formed, into a republic. The rebels have at length deprived 
themselves of the only plausible argument which their preach- 
ers have incessantly thundered from the pulpit, that they were 
contending for religious freedom ; and the emperor and the 
house of Austria have now the fairest opportunity to convince 



MATTHIAS. 241 

the world that their sole object is only to deliver themselves 
from slavery and restore their legal authority. They are se- 
cure of divine support, and they have only the alternative of 
a war by which they may regain their power, or a peace which 
is far more dishonorable and dangerous than war. If success- 
ful, the forfeited property of the rebels will defray the expense 
of their armaments ; if the event of hostilities be unfortunate, 
they can only lose, with honor, and with arms in their hands, 
the rights and prerogatives which are and will be wrested from 
them with shame and dishonor. It is better not to reign than 
to be the slave of subjects. It is far more desirable and glo- 
rious to shed our blood at the foot of the throne than to be 
driven from it like criminals and malefactors." 

Matthias endeavored to unite his own peace policy with 
the energetic warlike measures urged by Ferdinand. He at- 
tempted to overawe by a great demonstration of physical force, 
while at the same time he made very pacific proposals. Ap- 
plying to Spain for aid, the Spanish court sent him eight thou- 
sand troops from the Netherlands ; he also raised, in his own 
dominions, ten thousand men. Having assembled this force he 
sent word to the Protestants, that if they would disband their 
force he would do the same, and that he would confirm the 
royal edict, and give full security for the maintenance of their 
civil and religious privileges. The Protestants refused to dis- 
band, knowing that they could place no reliance upon the word 
of the unstable monarch who was crowded by the rising power 
of the energetic Ferdinand. The ambitious naturally deserted 
the court of the sovereign whose days were declining, to en- 
list in the service of one who was just entering upon the king- 
ly power. 

Ferdinand was enraged at what he considered the pusilla- 
nimity of the king. Maximilian, the younger brother of Mat- 
thias, cordially espoused the cause of Ferdinand. Cardinal 
Kleses, a Catholic of commanding influence and of enlight- 
ened, liberal views, was the counselor of the king. Ferdinand 

11 



242 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

and Maximilian resolved that he should no longer have access 
to the ear of the pliant monarch, but he could be removed from 
the court only by violence. With an armed band they en- 
tered the palace at Vienna, seized the cardinal in the midst of 
the court, stripped him of his robes, hurried him into a car- 
riage, and conveyed him to a strong castle in the midst of 
the mountains of the Tyrol, where they held him a close pris- 
oner. The emperor was at the time confined to his bed with 
the gout. As soon as they had sent off the cardinal, Ferdi- 
nand and Maximilian repaired to the royal chamber, informed 
the emperor of what they had done, and attempted to justify 
the deed on the plea that the cardinal was a weak and wicked 
minister whose policy would certainly divide and ruin the 
house of Austria. 

The emperor was in his bed as he received this insulting 
announcement of a still more insulting outrage. For a moment 
he was speechless with rage. But he was old, sick and power- 
less. This act revealed to him that the scepter had fallen from 
his hands. In a paroxysm of excitement, to prevent himself 
from speaking he thrust the bed-clothes into his mouth, nearly 
suffocating himself. Resistance was in vain. He feared that 
should he manifest any, he also might be torn from his palace, 
a captive, to share the prison of the cardinal. In sullen indig- 
nation he submitted to the outrage. 

Ferdinand and Maximilian now pursued their energetic 
measures of hostility unopposed. They immediately put the 
army in motion to invade Bohemia, and boasted that the Prot- 
estants should soon be punished with severity which would 
teach them a lesson they would never forget. But the Prot- 
estants were on the alert. Every town in the kingdom had 
joined in the confederacy, and in a few weeks Count Thurn 
found himself at the head of ten thousand men. inspired with 
the most determined spirit. The Silesians and Lusatians 
marched to help them, and the Protestant league of Germany 
sent them timely supplies. The troops of Ferdinand found 



MATTHIAS. 243 

opponents in every pass and in every defile, and in their en- 
deavor to force their way through the fastnesses of the moun- 
tains, were frequently driven back with great loss. At length 
the troops of Ferdinand, defeated at every point, were com- 
pelled to retreat in shame back to Austria, leaving all Bohemia 
in the hands of the Protestants. 

Ferdinand was now in trouble and disgrace. His plans had 
signally failed. The Protestants all over Germany were in 
arms, and their spirits roused to the highest pitch ; many of 
the moderate Catholics refused to march against them, declar- 
ing that the Protestants were right in resisting such oppres- 
sion. They feared Ferdinand, and were apprehensive that his 
despotic temper, commencing with religious intolerance, would 
terminate in civil tyranny. It was evident to all that the Prot- 
estants could not be put down by force of arms, and even 
Ferdinand was so intensely humiliated that he was constrained 
to assent to the proposal which Matthias made to refer their dif- 
ficulty to arbitration. Four princes were selected as the ref- 
erees — the Electors of Mentz, Bavaria, Saxony and Palatine. 
They were to meet at Egra the 14th of April, 1619. 

But Matthias, the victim of disappointment and grief, was 
now rapidly approaching his end. The palace at Vienna was 
shrouded in gloom, and no smiles were seen there, and no 
sounds of joy were heard in those regal saloons. The wife of 
Matthias, whom he tenderly loved, oppressed by the humilia- 
tion and anguish which she saw her husband enduring, died of 
a broken heart. Matthias was inconsolable under this irre- 
trievable loss. Lying upon his bed tortured with the pain of 
the gout, sinking under incurable disease, with no pleasant 
memories of the past to cheer him, with disgrace and disaster 
accumulating, and with no bright hopes beyond the grave, he 
loathed life and dreaded death. The emperor in his palace 
was perhaps the most pitiable object which could be found in 
all his realms. He tossed upon his pillow, the victim of re- 
morse and despair, now condemning himself for his cruel 



244 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

treatment of his brother Rhodolph, now inveighing bitterly 
against the inhumanity and arrogance of Ferdinand and Max- 
imilian. On the 20th of March, 1619, the despairing spirit of 
the emperor passed away to the tribunal of the " King of 
kings and the Lord of lords." 



CHAPTER XVI. 

FERDINAND II. 
Fbom 1619 to 1621. 

P08SES8IONS OF THE EmPEBOE. — POWER OP THE PROTESTANT8 OP BOHEMIA. — GENERAL 

Spikit of Insurrection. — Anxiety op Ferdinand.— Insurrection led by Count 
Thurn. — Unpopularity of the Emperor. — Affecting Declaration of the Em- 
peror. — Insurrection in Vienna. — The Arrival of Succor. — Ferdinand seeks 
the imperial throne. — repudiated by bohemia.— the palatinate. — frederio 
offered the Crown of Bohemia.— Frederic crowned. — Eevolt in Hungary. — 
Desperate Condition of the Emperor.— Catholic League. — The Calvinists and 
the Puritans. — Duplicity of the Emperor.— Foreign Combinations. — Truck 
between the catholics and the protestants. — the attack upon bohemia.— 
Battle of the White Mountain. 

FERDINAND, who now ascended the throne by right of 
the coronation he had already received, was in the prime 
of life, being but forty-one years of age, and was in possession 
of a rare accumulation of dignities. He was Archduke of Aus- 
tria, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, Duke of Styria, Ca- 
rinthia and Carniola, and held joint possession, with his two 
brothers, of the spacious territory of the Tyrol. Thus all these 
wide-spread and powerful territories, with different languages, 
different laws, and diverse manners and customs, were united 
under the Austrian monarchy, which was now undeniably one 
of the leading powers of Europe. In addition to all these titles 
and possessions, he was a prominent candidate for the imperial 
crown of Germany. To secure this additional dignity he could 
vely upon his own family influence, which was very powerful, 
and also upon the aid of the Spanish monarchy. When we 
contemplate his accession in this light, he appears as one of the 
most powerful monarchs who ever ascended a throne. 

But there is another side to the picture. The spirit of re- 



246 THE HOUSE OF AUSTKIA. 

bellion against his authority had spread through nearly all his 
territories, and he had neither State nor kingdom where his 
power seemed stable. In whatever direction he turned his 
eyes, he saw either the gleam of hostile arms or the people in 
a tumult just ready to combine against him. 

The Protestants of Bohemia had much to encourage them. 
All the kingdom, excepting one fortress, was in their possession. 
All the Protestants of the German empire had espoused their 
cause. The Silesians, Lusatians and Moravians were in open 
revolt. The Hungarian Protestants, animated by the success 
of the Bohemians, were eager to follow their example and 
throw off the yoke of Ferdinand. "With iron tyranny he had 
silenced every Protestant voice in the Styrian provinces, and 
had crushed every semblance of religious liberty. But the 
successful example of the Bohemians had roused the Styrians, 
and they also were on the eve of making a bold move in de- 
fense of their rights. Even in Austria itself, and beneath the 
very shadow of the palaces of Vienna, conspiracies were rife, 
and insurrection was only checked by the presence of the 
army which had been driven out of Bohemia. 

Even Ferdinand could not be blind to the difficulties which 
were accumulating upon him, and to the precarious tenure of 
his power. He saw the necessity of persevering in the attempt 
at conciliation which he had so reluctantly commenced. And 
yet, with strange infatuation, he proposed an accommodation 
in a manner which was deemed insulting, and which tended 
only to exasperate. The very day of his accession to the 
throne, he sent a commission to Prague, to propose a truce ; 
but, instead of conferring with the Protestant leaders, he 
seemed to treat them with intentional contempt, by address- 
ing his proposal to that very council of regency which had 
become so obnoxious. The Protestants, justly regarding this 
as an indication of the implacable state of his mind, and con- 
scious that the proposed truce would only enable him more ef- 
fectually to rally his forces, made no reply whatever to his pro- 



FERDINAND II. 247 

posals. Ferdinand, perceiving that he had made a great mis- 
take, and that he had not rightly appreciated the spirit of his 
foes, humbled himself a little more, and made still another 
attempt at conciliation. But the Protestants had now resolved 
that Ferdinand should never be King of Bohemia. It had 
become an established tenet of the Catholic church that it is 
not necessary to keep faith with heretics. Whatever solemn 
promises Ferdinand might make, the pope would absolve him 
from all sin in violating them. 

Count Thurn, with sixteen thousand men, marched into 
Moravia. The people rose simultaneously to greet him. He 
entered Brunn, the capital, in triumph. The revolution was 
immediate and entire. They abolished the Austrian govern- 
ment, established the Protestant worship, and organized a 
new government similar to that which they had instituted in 
Bohemia. Crossing the frontier, Count Thurn boldly entered 
Austria and, meeting no foe capable of retarding his steps, he 
pushed vigorously on even to the very gates of Vienna. As 
he had no heavy artillery capable of battering down the walls, 
and as he knew that he had many partisans within the walls 
of the city, he took possession of the suburbs, blockaded the 
town, and waited for the slow operation of a siege, hoping 
thus to be able to take the capital and the person of the sov- 
ereign without bloodshed. 

Ferdinand had brought such trouble upon the country, that 
he was now almost as unpopular with the Catholics as with the 
Protestants, and all his appeals to them for aid were of but 
little avail. The sudden approach of Count Thurn had amazed 
and discomfited him, and he knew not in what direction to 
look for aid. Cooped up in his capital, he could hold no com- 
munication with foreign powers, and his own subjects mani- 
fested no disposition to come to his rescue. The evidences 
of popular discontent, even in the city, were every hour be- 
coming more manifest, and the unhappy sovereign was in 
hourly expectation of an insurrection in the streets. 



2-18 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

The surrender of Vienna involved the loss of Austria. 
With the loss of Austria vanished all hopes of the imperial 
crown. Bohemia, Austria, and the German scepter gone, 
Hungary would soon follow ; and then, his own Styrian ter- 
ritories, sustained and aided by their successful neighbors, 
would speedily discard his sway. Ferdinand saw it all clearly, 
and was in an agony of despair. He has confided to his con- 
fessor the emotions which, in those terrible hours, agitated 
his soul. It is affecting to read the declaration, indicative as 
it is that the most cruel and perfidious man may be sincere 
and even conscientious in his cruelty and crime. To his Jes- 
uitical confessor, Bartholomew Valerius, he said, 

" I have reflected on the dangers which threaten me and 
my family, both at home and abroad. With an enemy in the 
suburbs, sensible that the Protestants are plotting my ruin, I 
implore that help from God which I can not expect from man. 
I had recourse to my Saviour, and said, l Lord Jesus Christ, 
Thou Redeemer of mankind, Thou to whom all hearts are 
opened, Thou knowest that I seek Thy honor, not my own. If 
it be Thy will, that, in this extremity, I should be overcome by 
my enemies, and be made the sport and contempt of the world, 
I will drink of the bitter cup. Thy will be done.' I had 
hardly spoken these words before I was inspired with new 
hope, and felt a full conviction that God would frustrate the 
designs of my enemies." 

Nerved by such a spirit, Ferdinand was prepared to en- 
dure all things rather than yield the slightest point. Hour 
after hour his situation became more desperate, and still he 
remained inflexible. Balls from the batteries of Count Thurn 
struck even the walls of his palace; murmurs filled the streets, 
and menaces rose to his ears from beneath his windows. "Let 
us put his evil counselors to the sword," the disaffected ex- 
claimed ; " shut him up in a convent ; and educate his chil- 
dren in the Protestant religion." 

At length the crisis had apparently arrived. Insurrection 



FERDINAND II. 249 

was organized. Clamorous bands surged through the streets, 
and there was a state of tumult which no police force could 
quell. A band of armed men burst into the palace, forced 
their way into the presence of Ferdinand, and demanded the 
surrender of the city. At that moment, when Ferdinand 
might well have been in despair, the unexpected sound of 
trumpets was heard in the streets, and the tramp of a squadron 
of cavalry. The king was as much amazed as were the in- 
surgents. The deputies, not knowing what it meant, in great 
alarm retreated from the palace. The squadron swept the 
streets, and surrounded the palace. They had been sent to 
the city by the general who had command of the Austrian 
forces, and, arriving at full speed, had entered unexpectedly 
at the only gate which the besiegers had not guarded. 

Their arrival, as if by heavenly commission, and the tid- 
ings they brought of other succor near at hand, reanimated 
the king and his partisans, and instantly the whole aspect of 
things within the city was changed. Six hundred students in 
the Roman Catholic institutions of the city flew to arms, and 
organized themselves as a body-guard of the king. All the 
zealous Catholics formed themselves into military bands, and 
this encouraged that numerous neutral party, always existing 
in such seasons of uncertainty, ready to join those who shall 
prove to be the strongest. The Protestants fled from the city, 
and sought protection under the banners of Count Thurn. 

In the meantime the Catholics in Bohemia, taking advan- 
tage of the absence of Count Thurn with his troops, had sur- 
rounded Prague, and were demanding its capitulation. This 
rendered it necessary for the Bohemian army immediately to 
strike their tents and return to Bohemia. Never was there a 
more sudden and perfect deliverance. It was, however, de- 
liverance only from the momentary peril. The great elements 
of discontent and conflict remained unchanged. 

It was very evident that the difficulties which Ferdinand 
had to encounter in his Austrian dominions, were so immense 

11* 



250 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

that he could not hope to surmount them without foreign aid, 
He consequently deemed it a matter important above all oth- 
ers to secure the imperial throne. Without this strength the 
loss of all his Austrian possessions was inevitable. With the 
influence and the power which the crown of Germany would 
confer upon him he could hope to gain all. Ferdinand imme- 
diately left Vienna and visited the most influential of the Ger- 
man princes to secure their support for his election. The 
Catholics all over Germany, alarmed by the vigor and energy 
which had been displayed by the Protestants, laid aside their 
several preferences, and gradually all united upon Ferdinand. 
The Protestants, foolishly allowing their Lutheran and Calvin- 
istic differences to disunite them, could not agree in their can- 
didate. Consequently Ferdinand was elected, and immediate- 
ly crowned emperor, the 9th of September, 1619. 

The Bohemians, however, remained firm in their resolve 
to repudiate him utterly as their king. They summoned a 
diet of the States of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia 
to meet at Prague. Delegates also attended the diet from 
Upper and Lower Austria, as also many nobles from distant 
Hungary. The diet drew up a very formidable list of griev- 
ances, and declared, in view of them, that Ferdinand had for- 
feited all right to the crown of Bohemia, and that consequent 
ly it was their duty, in accordance with the ancient usages, to 
proceed to the election of a sovereign. The Catholics were 
now so entirely in the minority in Bohemia that the Protes- 
tants held the undisputed control. They first chose the Elect- 
or of Saxony. He, conscious that he could maintain his post 
only by a long and uncertain war, declined the perilous dignity. 
They then with great unanimity elected Frederic, the Elector 
of Palatine. 

The Palatinate was a territory bordering on Bohemia, of 
over four thousand square miles, and contained nearly seven 
hundred thousand inhabitants. The elector, Frederic V., was 
thus a. prince of no small power in his own right. He had mar- 



FERDINAND II. 2jl 

ried a daughter of James I. of England, and had many pow- 
erful relatives. Frederic was an affable, accomplished, kind- 
hearted man, quite ambitious, and with but little force of 
character. He was much pleased at the idea of being elevated 
to the dignity of a king, and was yet not a little appalled in 
contemplating the dangers which it was manifest he must en- 
counter. His mother, with maternal solicitude, trembling for 
her son, intreated him not to accept the perilous crown. His 
father-in-law, James, remonstrated against it, sternly declaring 
that he would never patronize subjects in rebellion against 
their sovereign, that he would never acknowledge Frederic's 
title as king, or render him, under any circumstances, either 
sympathy or support. On the other hand the members of the 
Protestant league urged his acceptance ; his uncles united 
strongly with them in recommending it, and above all, his fasci- 
nating wife, whom he dotingly loved, and who, delighted at 
the idea of being a queen, threw herself into his arms, and 
plead in those persuasive tones which the pliant heart of Fred- 
eric could not resist. The Protestant clergy, also, in a strong 
delegation waited upon him, and intreated him in the name of 
that Providence which had apparently proffered to him the 
crown, to accept it in fidelity to himself, to his country and to 
the true religion. 

The trembling hand and the tearful eye with which Fred- 
eric accepted the crown, proved his incapacity to bear the bur- 
den in those stormy days. Placing the government of the 
Palatinate in the hands of the Duke of Deux Ponts, he repaired, 
with his family, to Prague. A rejoicing multitude met him at 
several leagues from the capital, and escorted him to the city 
with an unwonted display of popular enthusiasm. He was 
crowned with splendor such as Bohemia had never witnessed 
before. 

For a time the Bohemians surrendered themselves to the 
most extravagant joy. Frederic was exceedingly amiable, and 
just the prince to win, in calm and sunny days, the enthusias- 



252 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

tic admiration of his subjects. They were highly gratified 
in having the King of Bohemia dwell in his own capital at 
Prague, a privilege and honor which they had seldom enjoyed. 
Many of the German princes acknowledged Frederic's title, as 
did also Sweden, Denmark, Holland and Vienna. The revolu- 
tion in Bohemia was apparently consummated, and to the ordi- 
nary observer no cloud could be seen darkening the horizon. 

The Bohemians were strengthened in their sense of secur- 
ity by a similar revolution which was taking place in Hungary. 
As soon as Ferdinand left Vienna, to seek the crown of Ger- 
many, the Protestants of Hungary threw off their allegiance 
to Austria, and rallied around the banners of their bold, in- 
domitable leader, Gabriel Bethlehem. They fell upon the im- 
perial forces with resistless fury and speedily dispersed them. 
Having captured several of the most important fortresses, and 
having many troops to spare, Gabriel Bethlehem sent eighteen 
thousand men into Moravia to aid Count Thurn to disperse 
the imperial forces there. He then marched triumphantly to 
Presburg, the renowned capital of Hungary, within thirty 
miles of Vienna, where he was received by the majority of the 
inhabitants with open arms. He took possession of the sacred 
crown and of the crown jewels, called an assembly of the no- 
bles from the various States of Hungary and Transylvania, 
and united them in a firm band against Ferdinand. He now 
marched up the banks of the Danube into Austria. Count 
Thurn advanced from Moravia to meet him. The junction of 
their forces placed the two leaders in command of sixty thou- 
sand men. They followed along the left bank of the majestic 
Danube until they arrived opposite Vienna. Here they found 
eighteen thousand troops posted to oppose. After a short con- 
flict, the imperial troops retreated from behind their intrench- 
ments across the river, and blew up the bridge. 

In such a deplorable condition did the Emr. oror Ferdinand 
find his affairs, as he returned from Germany to Austria. He 
was apparently in a desperate position, and no human sagacity 



FERDINAND II. 258 

could foresee how he could retrieve his fallen fortunes. Ap- 
parently, could his despotic arm then have been broken, Eu 
rope might have been spared many years of war and woe. 
But the designs of Providence are inscrutable. Again there 
was apparently almost miraculous interposition. The imperial 
troops were rapidly concentrated in the vicinity of Vienna, to 
prevent the passage of the broad, deep and rapid river by the 
allied army. A strong force was dispatched down the right 
bank of the Danube, which attacked and dispersed a force 
left to protect the communication with Hungary. The season 
was far advanced, and it was intensely cold in those northern 
latitudes. The allied army had been collected so suddenly, 
that no suitable provision had been made for feeding so vast 
a host. Famine added its terrors to the cold blasts which 
menacingly swept the plains, and as there was imminent dan- 
ger that the imperial army might cut off entirely the com- 
munication of the allies with Hungary, Gabriel Bethlehem 
decided to relinquish the enterprise of taking Vienna, and 
retired unimpeded to Presburg. Almost every fortress in 
Hungary was now in the possession of the Hungarians, and 
Ferdinand, though his capital was released, saw that Hungary 
as well as Bohemia had escaped from his hands. At Pres- 
burg Gabriel was, with imposing ceremonies, proclaimed King 
of Hungary, and a decree of proscription and banishment was 
issued against all the adherents of Ferdinand. 

Germany was now divided into two great leagues, the 
Catholic and the Protestant. Though nominally religious 
parties, they were political as well as religious, and subject to 
all the fluctuations and corruptions attending such combina- 
tions. The Protestant league, composed of princes of every 
degree of dignity, who came from all parts of Germany, 
proudly mounted and armed, and attended by armed retain- 
ers, from a few score to many hundreds or even thousands, 
met at Nuremburg. It was one of the most influential and 
imposing assemblages which had ever gathered in Europe. 



254 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

The Catholics, with no less display of pomp and power, 
for their league embraced many of the haughtiest sovereigna 
in Europe, met at Wurtzburg. There were, of course, not a 
few who were entirely indifferent as to the religious questions 
involved, and who were Catholics or Protestants, in sub- 
serviency to the dictates of interest or ambition. Both par- 
ties contended with the arts of diplomacy as well as with 
those of war. The Spanish court was preparing a powerful 
armament to send from the Netherlands to the help of Fer- 
dinand. The Protestants sent an army to Ulna to watch their 
movements, and to cut them off. 

Ferdinand was as energetic as he had previously proved 
himself inflexible and persevering. In person he visited 
Munich, the capital of Bavaria, that he might more warmly 
interest in his favor Maximilian, the illustrious and warlike 
duke. The emperor made him brilliant promises, and secured 
his cordial cooperation. The Duke of Bavaria, and the Elector 
of the Palatinate, were neighbors and rivals ; and the em- 
peror offered Maximilian the spoils of the Palatinate, if they 
should be successful in their warfare against the newly elected 
Bohemian king. Maximilian, .thus persuaded, placed all his 
force at the disposal of the emperor. 

The Elector of Saxony was a Lutheran ; the Elector Pal- 
atine a Calvinist. The Lutherans believed, that after the con- 
secration of the bread and wine at the sacramental table, 
the body and blood of Christ were spiritually present w T ith 
that bread and wine. This doctrine, which they called con- 
substantiation, they adopted in antagonism to the papal doc- 
trine of transubstantiation, which was that the bread and 
wine were actually transformed into, and became the real 
body and blood of Christ. 

The difference between the Calvinists and the Lutherans, 
as we have before mentioned, was that, while the former con- 
sidered the bread and wine in the sacraments as representing 
the body and the blood of Christ, the latter considered the body 



FERDINAND II. 255 

and the blood as spiritually present in the consecrated elements. 
This trivial difference divided brethren who were agreed 
upon all the great points of Christian faith, duty and obliga- 
tion. It is melancholy, and yet instructive to observe, through 
the course of history, how large a proportion of the energies 
of Christians have been absorbed in contentions against each 
other upon shadowy points of doctrine, while a world has 
been perishing in wickedness. The most efficient men in the 
Church on earth, have had about one half of their energies 
paralyzed by contentions with their own Christian brethren. 
It is so now. The most energetic men, in pleading the cause 
of Christ, are often assailed even more unrelentingly by 
brethren who differ with them upon some small point of 
doctrine, than by a hostile world. 

Human nature, even when partially sanctified, is frail in- 
deed. The Elector of Saxony was perhaps a good man, but 
he was a weak one. He was a zealous Lutheran, and was 
shocked that a Calvinist, a man who held the destructive 
error that the bread and wine only represented the body and 
the blood of Christ, should be raised to the throne of Bo- 
hemia, and thus become the leader of the Protestant party. 
The Elector of Saxony and the Elector of the Palatine had 
also been naturally rivals, as neighbors, and possessors of about 
equal rank and power. Though the Calvinists, to conciliate 
the Lutherans, had offered the throne to the Elector of Saxony, 
and he had declined it, as too perilous a post for him to oc- 
cupy, still he was weakly jealous of his rival who had assumed 
that post, and was thus elevated above him to the kingly 
dignity. 

Ferdinand understood all this, and shrewdly availed him- 
self of it. He plied the elector with arguments and prom- 
ises, assuring him that the points in dispute were political 
merely and not religious ; that he had no intention of oppos- 
ing the Protestant religion, and that if the elector would aban- 
don the Protestant league, he would reward him with a large 



256 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

accession of territory. It seems incredible that the Elector of 
Saxony could have been influenced by such representations. 
But so it was. Averring that he could not in conscience up- 
hold a man who did not embrace the vital doctrine of the spir- 
itual presence, he abandoned his Protestant brethren, and 
drew with him the Landgrave of Hesse, and several other 
Lutheran princes. This was a very serious defection, which 
disheartened the Protestants as much as it encouraged Ferdi- 
nand. 

The wily emperor having succeeded so admirably with the 
Protestant elector, now turned to the Roman Catholic court 
of France — that infamous court, still crimsoned with the blood 
of the St. Bartholomew massacre. Then, with diplomatic ter- 
giversation, he represented that the conflict was not a political 
one, but purely religious, involving the interests of the Church. 
He urged that the peace of France and of Europe required 
that the Protestant heresy should be utterly effaced ; and he 
provoked the resentment of the court by showing how much 
aid the Protestants in Europe had ever received from the Pala- 
tinate family. Here again he was completely successful, and 
the young king, Louis XIII., who was controlled by his big- 
oted yet powerful minister, the Duke of Luines, cordially es- 
poused his cause. 

Spain, intolerant, despotic, hating Protestantism with per- 
fect hatred, was eager with its aid. A well furnished army of 
twenty-four thousand men was sent from the Netherlands, and 
also a large sum of money was placed in the treasury of Fer- 
dinand. Even the British monarch, notwithstanding the 
clamors of the nation, was maneuvered into neutrality. And 
most surprising of all, Ferdinand was successful in securing 
a truce with Gabriel Bethlehem, which, though it conferred 
peace upon Hungary, deprived the Bohemians of their power- 
ful support. 

The Protestants were strong in their combination ; but 
still it was a power of fearful strength now arrayed against 



FERDINAND II. 257 

them. It was evident that Europe was on the eve of a long 
and terrible struggle. The two forces began to assemble. 
The Protestants rendezvoused at Ulm, under the command of 
the Margrave of Anspach. The Catholic troops, from their 
wide dispersion, were concentrating at Guntzburg, to be led 
by the Duke of Bavaria. The attention of all Europe was 
arrested by these immense gatherings. All hearts were 
oppressed with solicitude, for the parties were very equally 
matched, and results of most momentous importance were de- 
pendent upon the issue. 

In this state of affairs the Protestant league, which ex- 
tended through Europe, entered into a truce with the Catho- 
lic league, which also extended through Europe, that they 
should both withdraw from the contest, leaving Ferdinand and 
the Bohemians to settle the dispute as they best could. This 
seemed very much to narrow the field of strife, but the meas- 
ure, in its practical results, was far more favorable to Ferdinand 
than to the Bohemians. The emperor thus disembarrassed, by 
important concessions, and by menaces, brought the Protest- 
ants of Lower Austria into submission. The masses, over- 
awed by a show of power which they could not resist, yielded ; 
the few who refused to bow in homage to the emperor were 
punished as guilty of treason. 

Ferdinand, by these cautious steps, was now prepared to 
concentrate his energies upon Bohemia. He first attacked the 
dependent provinces of Bohemia, one by one, sending an army 
of twenty-five thousand men to take them unprepared. Hav- 
ing subjected all of Upper Austria to his sway, with fifty thou 
sand men he entered Bohemia. Their march was energetic 
and sanguinary. With such an overpowering force they took 
fortress after fortress, scaling ramparts, mercilessly cutting 
down garrisons, plundering and burning towns, and massa- 
creing the inhabitants. Neither sex nor age was spared, and 
a brutal soldiery gratified their passions in the perpetration of 
indescribable horrors. Even the Duke of Bavaria was shocked 



253 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

at such barbarities, and entered his remonstrances against 
them. Many large towns, terrified by the atrocities perpe- 
trated upon those who resisted the imperial arms, threw open 
their gates, hoping thus, by submission, to appease the ven- 
geance of the conqueror. 

Frederic was a weak man, not at all capable of encounter- 
ing such a storm, and the Bohemians had consequently no one 
to rally and to guide them with efficiency. His situation was 
now alarming in the extreme. He was abandoned by the 
Protestant league, hemmed in on every side by the imperial 
troops, and his hereditary domains of the Palatinate were over- 
run by twenty thousand Spaniards. His subjects, alarmed at 
his utter inefficiency, and terrified by the calamities which were 
falling, like avalanche after avalanche upon them, became dis- 
satisfied with him, and despairing respecting their own fate. 
He was a Calvinist, and the Lutherans, had never warmly re- 
ceived him. The impotent monarch, instead of establishing 
himself in the affections of his subjects, by vigorously driving 
the invaders from his realms, with almost inconceivable silli- 
ness endeavored to win their popularity by balls and smiles, 
pleasant words and masquerades. In fact, Frederic, by his 
utter inefficiency, was a foe more to be dreaded by Bohemia 
than Ferdinand. 

The armies of the emperor pressed on, throwing the whole 
kingdom into a state of consternation and dismay. The army 
of Frederic, which dared not emerge from its intrenchments 
at Pritzuitz, about fifty miles south of Prague, consisted of 
but twenty-two thousand men, poorly armed, badly clothed, 
wretchedly supplied with military stores, and almost in a state 
of mutiny from arrears of pay. The generals were in per- 
plexity and disagreement. Some, in the recklessness of de- 
spair, were for marching to meet the foe and to lisk a battle ; 
others were for avoiding a conflict, and thus protracting the 
war till the severity of winter should drive their enemies from 
the field, when they w^uld have some time to prepare for 



FERDINAND II. 259 

another year's campaign. These difficulties led Frederic to 
apply for a truce. But Ferdinand was too wise to lose by 
wasting time in negotiations, vantage ground he had already 
gained. He refused to listen to any word except the une- 
quivocal declaration that Frederic relinquished all right to the 
crown. Pressing his forces onward, he drove the Bohemians 
from behind their ramparts at Pritznitz, and pursued them 
down the Moldau even to the walls of Prague. 

Upon a magnificent eminence called the "White Mountain, 
which commanded the city and its most important approaches, 
the disheartened army of Frederic stopped in its flight, and 
made its last stand. The enemy were in hot pursuit. The 
Bohemians in breathless haste began to throw up intrench- 
ments along the ravines, and to plant their batteries on the 
hills, when the banners of Ferdinand were seen approaching. 
The emperor was too energetic a warrior to allow his panic- 
stricken foes time to regain their courage. Without an hour's 
delay he urged his victorious columns to the charge. The 
Bohemians fought desperately, with far more spirit than could 
have x been expected. But they were overpowered by num- 
bers, and in one short hour the army of Frederic was an- 
nihilated. Four thousand were left dead upon the field, one 
thousand were drowned in the frantic attempt to swim the 
Moldau, and the rest were either dispersed as fugitives over 
hill and valley or taken captive. The victory of the emperor 
was complete, the hopes of Frederic crushed, and the fate of 
Bohemia sealed. 

The contemptible Frederic, while this fierce battle was 
raging beneath the very walls of his capital, instead of placing 
himself at the head of his troops, was in the heart of the city, 
in the banqueting-hall of his palace, bowing and smiling and 
feasting his friends. The Prince of Anhalt, who was in com- 
mand of the Bohemian army, had sent a most urgent message 
to the king, intreating him to dispatch immediately to his aid 
all the troops in the city, and especially to repair himself to 



260 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

the camp to encourage the troops by his presence. Frederic 
was at the table when he received this message, and sent word 
back that he could not come until after dinner. As soon as 
the combat commenced, another still more urgent message was 
sent, to which he returned the same reply. After dinner he 
mounted his horse and rode to the gate which led to the 
White Mountain. The thunders of the terrible battle filled 
the air ; the whole city was in the wildest state of terror and 
confusion ; the gates barred and barricaded. Even the king 
could not get out. He climbed one of the towers of the wall 
and looked out upon the gory field, strewn with corpses, where 
his army had been, but was no more. He returned hastily to 
his palace, and met there the Prince of Anhalt, who, with a 
few fugitives, had succeeded in entering the city by one of the 
gates. 

The city now could not defend itself for an hour. The 
batteries of Ferdinand were beginning to play upon the walls, 
when Frederic sent out a flag of truce soliciting a cessation of 
hostilities for twenty-four hours, that they might negotiate re- 
specting peace. The peremptory reply returned was, that 
there should not be truce for a single moment, unless Fred- 
eric would renounce all pretension to the crown of Bohemia. 
With such a renunciation truce would be granted for eight 
hours. Frederic acceded to the demand, and the noise of war 
was hushed. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

I BRDINAND II. 

From 1621 to 1629. 

Pusillanimity op Frederic. — Intreaties op the Citizens op Prague. — Shameful 
Flight of Frederic. — Vengeance inflicted upon Bohemia. — Protestantism and 
civil Freedom. — Vast Power op the Emperor. — Alarm of Europe. — James I.— 
Treaty of Marriage for the Prince of Wales. — Cardinal Eichelieu. — New 
League of the Protestants. — Desolating War. — Defeat op the King op Den- 
mark. — Energy of Wallenstein. — Triumph op Ferdinand. — New Acts op In- 
tolerance. — Severities in Bohemia. — Desolation of the Kingdom. — Dissatis- 
faction of the Duke of Bavaria. — Meeting of the Catholic Princes. — Thh 
Emperor humbled. 

THE citizens of Prague were indignant at the pusillanimity 
of Frederic. In a body they repaired to the palace and 
tried to rouse his feeble spirits. They urged him to adopt a 
manly resistance, and offered to mount the ramparts and beat 
off the foe until succor could arrive. But Frederic told them 
that he had resolved to leave Prague, that he should escape 
during the darkness of the night, and advised them to capitu- 
late on the most favorable terms they could obtain. The in- 
habitants of the city were in despair. They knew that they 
had nothing to hope from the clemency of the conqueror, and 
that there was no salvation for them from irretrievable ruin 
but in the most desperate warfare. Even now, though the 
enemy was at their gates, their situation was by no means 
hopeless with a leader of any energy. 

" We have still," they urged, " sufficient strength to with- 
stand a siege. The city is not invested on every side, and 
reinforcements can enter by some of the gates. We have 
ample means in the city to support all the troops which can 



262 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

be assembled within its walls. The soldiers who have escaped 
from the disastrous battle need but to see the Bohemian ban- 
ners again unfurled and to hear the blast of the bugle, to re- 
turn to their ranks. Eight thousand troops are within a few 
hours' march of us. There is another strong band in the rear 
of the enemy, prepared to cut off their communications. 
Several strong fortresses, filled with arms and ammunition, 
are still in our possession, and the Bohemians, animated by the 
remembrance of the heroic deeds of their ancestors, are eager 
to retrieve their fortunes." 

Had Fiederic possessed a tithe of the perseverance and 
energy of Ferdinand, with these resources he might soon have 
arrested the steps of the conqueror. Never was the charac- 
teristic remark of Napoleon to Key better verified, that " an 
army of deer led by a lion is better than an army of lions led 
by a deer." Frederic was panic-stricken for fear he might 
fall into the hands of Ferdinand, from whom he well knew that 
he was to expect no mercy. With ignominious haste, aban- 
doning every thing, even the coronation regalia, at midnight, 
surrounded by a few friends, he stole out at one of the gates 
of the city, and putting spurs to his horse, allowed himself no 
rest until he was safe within the walls of Berlin, two hundred 
miles from Prague. 

The despairing citizens, thus deserted by their sovereign, 
and with a victorious foe at their very walls, had no alterna- 
tive but to throw open their gates and submit to the mercy of 
the conqueror. The next day the whole imperial army, under 
the Duke of Bavaria, with floating banners and exultant mu- 
sic, entered the streets of the capital, and took possession of the 
palaces. The tyrant Ferdinand was as vengeful and venomous 
as he was vigorous and unyielding. The city was immediately 
disarmed, and the government intrusted to a vigorous Roman 
Catholic prince, Charles of Lichtenstein. A strong garrison 
was left in the city to crush, with a bloody hand, any indica- 
tions of insurrection, and then the Duke of Bavaria returned 



FEEDINAND II. 263 

with most of his army to Munich, his capital, tottering be- 
neath the burden of plunder. 

There was a moment's lull before the tempest of imperial 
wrath burst upon doomed Bohemia. Ferdinand seemed to 
deliberate, and gather his strength, that he might strike a 
blow which would be felt forever. He did strike such a blow 
— one which has been remembered for two hundred years, and 
which will not be forgotten for ages to come — one which 
doomed parents and children to weary years of vagabondage, 
penury and woe which must have made life a burden. 

On the night of the 21st of January, three months after 
the capitulation, and when the inhabitants of Prague had be- 
gun to hope that there might, after all, be some mercy in the 
bosom of Ferdinand, forty of the leading citizens of the place 
w^ere simultaneously arrested. They were torn from their fami- 
lies and thrown into dungeons where they were kept in terrific 
suspense for four months. They were then brought before an 
imperial commission and condemned as guilty of high treason. 
All their property was confiscated, nothing whatever being 
left for their helpless families. Twenty-three were immediate- 
ly executed upon the scaffold, and all the rest were either con- 
signed to life-long imprisonment, or driven into banishment. 
Twenty-seven other nobles, who had escaped from the king- 
dom, were declared traitors. Their castles were seized, their 
property confiscated and presented as rewards to Roman .Cath- 
olic nobles who were the friends of Ferdinand. An order 
was then issued for all the nobles and landholders throughout 
the kingdom to send in a confession of whatever aid they had 
rendered, or encouragement they had given to the insurrec- 
tion. And the most terrible vengeance was threatened against 
any one who should afterward be proved guilty of any act 
whatever of which he had not made confession. The conster- 
nation which this decree excited was so great, that not only 
was every one anxious to confess the slightest act which could 
be construed as unfriendly to the emperor, but many, in their 



264 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

terror, were driven to accuse themselves of guilt, who had 
taKen no share in the movement. Seven hundred nobles, and 
the whole body of Protestant landholders, placed their names 
on the list of those who confessed guilt and implored pardon. 

The fiend-like emperor, then, in the mockery of mercy, de- 
clared that in view of his great clemency and their humble 
confession, he would spare their forfeited lives, and would only 
punish them by depriving them of their estates. He took their 
mansions, their estates, their property, and turned them adrift 
upon the world, with their wives and their children, fugitives 
and penniless. Thus between one and two thousand of the 
most ancient and noble families of the kingdom were rendered 
houseless and utterly beggared. Their friends, involved with 
them in the same woe, could render no assistance. They were 
denounced as traitors ; no one dared befriend them, and their 
possessions were given to those who had rallied beneath the ban- 
ners of the emperor. " To the victors belong the spoils." No 
pen can describe the ruin of these ancient families. No imagi- 
nation can follow them in their steps of starvation and despair, 
until death came to their relief. 

Ferdinand considered Protestantism and rebellion as syn- 
onymous terms. And well he might, for Protestantism has 
ever been arrayed as firmly against civil as against religious 
despotism. The doctrines of the reformers, from the days of 
Luther and Calvin, have always been associated with political 
liberty. Ferdinand was determined to crush Protestantism. 
The punishment of the Elector Palatine was to be a signal and 
an appalling warning to all who in future should think of disput- 
ing the imperial sway. The elector himself, having renounced 
the throne, had escaped beyond the emperor's reach. But Fer- 
dinand took possession of his ancestral territories and divided 
them among his Roman Catholic allies. The electoral vote 
which he held in the diet of the empire, Ferdinand transferred 
to the Duke of Bavaria, thus reducing the Protestant vote to 
two, and securing an additional Catholic suffrage. The ban of 



FERDINAND II. 265 

the empire was also published against the Prince of Anhalt, 
the Count of Hohenloe, and the Duke Jaegendorf, who had 
been supporters of Frederic. This ban of the empire deprived 
them of their territories, of their rank, and of their posses- 
sions. 

The Protestants throughout the empire were terrified by 
these fierce acts of vengeance, and were fearful of sharing 
the same fate. They now regretted bitterly that they had dis- 
banded their organization. They dared not make any move 
against the emperor, who was flushed with pride and power, 
lest he should pounce at once upon them. The emperor con- 
sequently marched unimpeded in his stern chastisements. 
Frederic was thus deserted entirely by the Protestant union ; 
and his father-in-law, James of England, in accordance with 
his threat, refused to lend him any aid. Various most heroic 
efforts were made by a few intrepid nobles, but one after 
another they were crushed by the iron hand of the emperor. 

Ferdinand, having thus triumphed over all his foes, and 
having divided their domains among his own followers, called 
a meeting of the electors who were devoted to his cause, at 
Ratisbon, on the 25th of February, 1623, to confirm what he 
had done. In every portion of the empire, where the arm of 
the emperor could reach them, the Protestants wert, receiving 
heavy blows. They were now thoroughly alarmed and aroused. 
The Catholics all over Europe were renewing their league ; all 
the Catholic powers were banded together, and Protestantism 
seemed on the eve of being destroyed by the sword of perse- 
cution. 

Other parts of Europe also began to look with alarm upon 
the vast power acquired by Austria. There was but little of 
conciliation in the character of Ferdinand, and his unbounded 
success, while it rendered him more haughty, excited also the 
jealousy of the neighboring powers. In Lower Saxony, nearly 
all the nobles and men of influence were Protestants. The 
principal portion of the ecclesiastical property was in their 

12 



266 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

hands. It was very evident that unless the despotism of Fer- 
dinand was checked, he would soon wrest from them their 
titles and possessions, and none the less readily because he had 
succeeded in bribing the Elector of Saxony to remain neutral 
while he tore the crown of Bohemia from the Elector of the 
Palatine, and despoiled him of his wide-spread ancestral ter- 
ritories. 

James I. of England had been negotiating a marriage of 
his son, the Prince of Wales, subsequently Charles I., with 
the daughter of the King of Spain. This would have been, 
in that day, a brilliant match for his son ; and as the Span- 
ish monarch was a member of the house of Austria, and a 
cooperator with his cousin, the Emperor Ferdinand, in all his 
measures in Germany, it was an additional reason why James 
should not interfere in defense of his son-in-law, Frederic of 
the Palatine. But now this match was broken off by the in- 
fluence of the haughty English minister Buckingham, who had 
the complete control of the feeble mind of the British mon- 
arch. A treaty of marriage was soon concluded between the 
Prince of Wales and Henrietta, a princess of France. There 
was hereditary hostility between France and Spain, and both 
England and France were now quite willing to humble the 
house of Austria. The nobles of Lower Saxony availed them- 
selves of this new turn in the posture of affairs, and obtained 
promises of aid from them both, and, through their interces- 
sion, aid also from Denmark and Sweden. 

Richelieu, the imperious French minister, was embar- 
rassed by two antagonistic passions. He was eager to humble 
the house of Austria ; and this he could only do by lending 
aid to the Protestants. On the other hand, it was the great 
object of his ambition to restore the royal authority to un- 
limited power, and this he could only accomplish by aiding 
the house of Austria to crush the Protestants, whose love of 
freedom all despots have abhorred. Impelled by these con- 
flicting passions, he did all in his power to extirpate Protest- 



FEEDINAND II. 267 

antism from France, while he omitted neither lures nor in- 
trigues to urge the Protestants in Germany to rise against the 
despotism of Austria. Gustavus Adolphus, of Sweden, was 
personally inimical to Ferdinand, in consequence of injuries 
he had received at his hands. Christian IV. of Denmark was 
cousin to Elizabeth, the mother of Frederic, and, in addition 
to this interest in the conflict which relationship gave him, he 
was also trembling lest some of his own possessions should 
soon be wrested from him by the all-grasping emperor. A 
year was employed, the year 1624, in innumerable secret in- 
trigues, and plans of combination, for a general rising of the 
Protestant powers. It was necessary that the utmost secrecy 
should be observed in forming the coalition, and that all 
should be ready, at the same moment, to cooperate against a 
foe so able, so determined and so powerful. 

Matters being thus essentially arranged, the States of Lower 
Saxony, who were to take the lead, held a meeting at Sege- 
berg on the 25th of March, 1625. They formed a league for 
the preservation of their religion and liberties, settled the 
amount of money and men which each of the contracting par- 
ties was to furnish, and chose Christian IV., King of Denmark, 
their leader. The emperor had for some time suspected that 
a confederacy was in the process of formation, and had kept a 
watchful eye upon every movement. The vail was now laid 
aside, and Christian IV. issued a proclamation, stating the 
reasons why they had taken up arms against the emperor. 
This was the signal for a blaze of war, which wrapped all 
northern Europe in a wide conflagration. Victory ebbed 
and flowed. Bohemia, Hungary, Denmark, Austria — all the 
States of the empire, were swept and devastated by pursuing 
and retreating armies. But gradually the emperor gained. 
First he overwhelmed all opposition in Lower Saxony, and 
riveting anew the shackles of despotism, rewarded his follow- 
ers with the spoils of the vanquished. Then he silenced every 
murmur in Austria, so that no foe dared lift up the voice or 



268 THE HOUSE OP AUSTEIA. 

peep. Then he poured his legions into Hungary, swept back 
the tide of victory which had been following the Hungarian 
banners, and struck blow after blow, until Gabriel Bethlehem 
was compelled to cry for peace and mercy. Bohemia, pre- 
viously disarmed and impoverished, was speedily struck down. 

And now the emperor turned his energies against the 
panic-stricken King of Denmark. He pursued him from for- 
tress to fortress ; attacked him in the open field, and beat 
him ; attacked him behind his intrenchments, and drove him 
from them through the valleys, and over the hills, across 
rivers, and into forests ; bombarded his cities, plundered his 
provinces, shot down his subjects, till the king, reduced almost 
to the last extremity, implored peace. The emperor repelled 
his advances with scorn, demanding conditions of debasement 
more to be dreaded than death. The King of Denmark fled 
to the isles of the Baltic. Ferdinand took possession of the 
shores of this northern sea, and immediately commenced with 
vigor creating a fleet, that he might have sea as well as land 
forces, that he might pursue the Danish monarch over the 
water, and that he might more effectually punish Gustavus 
Adolphus of Sweden. He had determined to dethrone this 
monarch, and to transfer the crown of Sweden to Sigismond, 
his brother-in-law, King of Poland, who was almost as zealous 
a Roman Catholic as was the emperor himself. 

He drove the two Dukes of Mecklenburg from their ter- 
ritory, and gave the rich and beautiful duchy, extending along 
the south-eastern shore of the Baltic, to his renowned general, 
Wallenstein. This fierce, ambitious warrior was made gen- 
eralissimo of all the imperial troops by land, and admiral of 
the Baltic sea. Ferdinand took possession of all the ports, 
from the mouth of the Keil, to Kolberg, at the mouth of the 
Persante. Wismar, on the magnificent bay bearing the same 
name, was made the great naval depot ; and, by building, 
buying, hiring and robbing, the emperor soon collected quite 
a formidable fleet. The immense duchy of Pomerania was 



FERDINAND II. 269 

just north-east of Mecklenburg, extending along the eastern 
shore of the Baltic sea some hundred and eighty miles, and 
about sixty miles in breadth. Though the duke had in no way 
displeased Ferdinand, the emperor grasped the magnificent 
duchy, and held it by the power of his resistless armies. 
Crossing a narrow arm of the sea, he took the rich and pop- 
ulous islands of Rugen and Usedom, and laid siege to the city 
of Stralsund, which almost commanded the Baltic sea. 

The kings of Sweden and Denmark, appalled by the rapid 
strides of the imperial general, united all their strength to re- 
sist him. They threw a strong garrison into Stralsund, and 
sent the fleets of both kingdoms to aid in repelling the attack, 
and succeeded in baffling all the attempts of Wallenstein, and 
finally in driving him off, though he had boasted that " he 
would reduce Stralsund, even if it were bound to heaven with 
chains of adamant." Though frustrated in this attempt, the 
armies of Ferdinand had swept along so resistlessly, that the 
King of Denmark was ready to make almost any sacrifice for 
peace. A congress was accordingly held at Lubec in May, 1629, 
when peace was made ; Ferdinand retaining a large portion 
of his conquests, and the King of Denmark engaging no longer 
to interfere in the affairs of the empire. 

Ferdinand was now triumphant over all his foes. The 
Protestants throughout the empire were crushed, and all their 
allies vanquished. He now deemed himself omnipotent, and 
with wild ambition contemplated the utter extirpation of Prot- 
estantism, and the subjugation of nearly all of Europe to his 
sway. He formed the most intimate alliance with the branch 
of his house ruling over Spain, hoping that thus the house of 
Austria might be the arbiter of the fate of Europe. The 
condition of Europe at that time was peculiarly favorable for 
the designs of the emperor. Charles I. of England was strug- 
gling against that Parliament which soon deprived him both 
of his crown and his head. France was agitated, from the 
Rhine to the Pyrenees, by civil war, the Catholics striving to 



270 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

exterminate the Protestants. Insurrections in Turkey absorbed 
all the energies of the Ottoman court, leaving them no time 
to think of interfering with the affairs of Europe. The King 
of Denmark was humiliated and prostrate. Sweden was too 
far distant and too feeble to excite alarm. Sigismond of Po- 
land was in intimate alliance with the emperor. Gabriel Beth- 
lehem of Hungary was, languishing on a bed of disease and 
pain, and only asked permission to die in peace. 

The first step which the emperor now took was to revoke 
all the concessions which had been granted to the Protestants. 
In Upper Austria, where he felt especially strong, he abolished 
the Protestant worship utterly. In Lower Austria he was 
slightly embarrassed by engagements which he had so solemnly 
made, and dared not trample upon them without some lit- 
tle show of moderation. First he prohibited the circulation 
of all Protestant books ; he then annulled all baptisms and 
marriages performed by Protestants ; then all Protestants were 
excluded from holding any civil or military office ; then he is- 
sued a decree that all the children, without exception, should 
be educated by Catholic priests, and that every individual 
should attend Catholic worship. Thus coil by coil he wound 
around his subjects the chain of unrelenting intolerance. 

In Bohemia he was especially severe, apparently delighting 
to punish those who had made a struggle for civil and relig- 
ious liberty. Every school teacher, university professor and 
Christian minister, was ejected from office, and their places in 
schools, universities and churches were supplied by Catholic 
monks. No person was allowed to exercise any mechanical 
trade whatever, unless he professed the Roman Catholic faith. 
A very severe fine was inflicted upon any one who should be 
detected worshiping at any time, even in family prayer, ac- 
cording to the doctrines and customs of the Protestant church. 
Protestant marriages were pronounced illegal, their children 
illegitimate, their wills invalid. The Protestant poor were 
driven from the hospitals and the alms-houses. No Protestant 



FERDINAND II. 271 

was allowed to reside in the capital city of Prague, but, what- 
ever his wealth or rank, he was driven ignoininiously from the 
metropolis. 

In the smaller towns and remote provinces of the kingdom, 
a military force, accompanied by Jesuits and Capuchin friars, 
sought out the Protestants, and they were exposed to every 
conceivable insult and indignity. Their houses were pillaged, 
their wives and children surrendered to all the outrages of a 
cruel soldiery ; many were massacred ; many, hunted like wild 
beasts, were driven into the forest ; many were put to the tor- 
ture, and as their bones were crushed and quivering nerves 
were torn, they were required to give in their adhesion to the 
Catholic faith. The persecution to which the Bohemians were 
subjected has perhaps never been exceeded in severity. 

While Bohemia was writhing beneath these woes, the em- 
peror, to secure the succession, repaired in regal pomp to 
Prague, and crowned his son King of Bohemia. He then is- 
sued a decree abolishing the right which the Bohemians had 
claimed, to elect their king, forbade the use of the Bohemian 
language in the court and in all public transactions, and an- 
nulled all past edicts of toleration. He proclaimed that no 
religion but the Roman Catholic should henceforth be toler- 
ated in Bohemia, and that all who did not immediately return 
to the bosom of the Church should be banished from the king- 
dom. This cruel edict drove into banishment thirty thousand 
families. These Protestant families composed the best portion 
of the community, including the most illustrious in rank, the 
most intelligent, the most industrious and the most virtuous. 
No State could meet with such a loss without feeling it deeply, 
and Bohemia has never yet recovered from the blow. One of 
the Bohemian historians, himself a Roman Catholic, thus de- 
scribes the change which persecution wrought in Bohemia : 

" The records of history scarcely furnish a similar example 
of such a change as Bohemia underwent during the reign of 
Ferdinand II. In 1620, the monks and a few of the nobility 



272 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

only excepted, the whole country was entirely Protestant. At 
the death of Ferdinand it was, in appearance at least, Catholic. 
Till the battle of the White Mountain the States enjoyed more 
exclusive privileges than the Parliament of England. They 
enacted laws, imposed taxes, contracted alliances, declared 
war and peace, and chose or confirmed their kings. But all 
these they now lost. 

" Till this fatal period the Bohemians were daring, un- 
daunted, enterprising, emulous of fame ; now they have lost 
all their courage, their national pride, their enterprising spirit. 
Their courage lay buried in the White Mountain. Individuals 
still possessed personal valor, military ardor and a thirst of 
glory, but, blended with other nations, they resembled the 
waters of the Moldau which join those of the Elbe. These 
united streams bear ships, overflow lands and overturn rocks ; 
yet the Elbe is only mentioned, and the Moldau forgotten. 

" The Bohemian language, which had been used in all the 
courts of justice, and which was in high estimation among the 
nobles, fell into contempt. The German was introduced, be- 
came the general language among the nobles and citizens, and 
was used by the monks in their sermons. The inhabitants of 
the towns began to be ashamed of their native tongue, which 
was confined to the villages and called the language of peas- 
ants. The arts and sciences, so highly cultivated and esteemed 
under Rhodolph, sunk beyond recovery. During the period 
which immediately followed the banishment of the Protestants, 
Bohemia scarcely produced one man who became eminent in 
any branch of learning. The greater part of the schools were 
conducted by Jesuits and other monkish orders, and nothing 
taught therein but bad Latin. 

"It can not be denied that several of the Jesuits were men 
of great learning and science ; but their system was to keep 
the people in ignorance. Agreeably to this principle they 
gave their scholars only the rind, and kept to themselves the 
pulp of literature. With this view they traveled from town to 



FERDINAND II. 273 

town as missionaries, and went from house to house, examin- 
ing ail books, which the landlord was compelled unde.* pain of 
eternal damnation to produce. The greater part they confis- 
cated and burnt. They thus endeavored to extinguish the 
ancient literature of the country, labored to persuade the stu- 
dents that before the introduction of their order into Bohe- 
mia nothing but ignorance prevailed, and carefully concealed 
the learned labors and even the names of our ancestors." 

Ferdinand, having thus bound Bohemia hand and foot, and 
having accomplished all his purpose in that kingdom, now en- 
deavored, by cautious but very decisive steps, to expel Prot- 
estant doctrines from all parts of the German empire. Decree 
succeeded decree, depriving Protestants of their rights and 
conferring upon the Roman Catholics wealth and station. He 
had a powerful and triumphant standing army at his control, 
under the energetic and bigoted Wallenstein, ready and able 
to enforce his ordinances. No Protestant prince dared to 
make any show of resistance. All the church property was 
torn from the Protestants, and this vast sum, together with 
the confiscated territories of those Protestant princes or no- 
bles who had ventured to resist the emperor, placed at his dis- 
posal a large fund from which to reward his followers. The 
emperor kept, however, a large portion of the spoils in his own 
hands for the enriching of his own family. 

This state of things soon alarmed even the Catholics. The 
emperor was growing too powerful, and his power was bear- 
ing profusely its natural fruit of pride and arrogance. The 
army was insolent, trampling alike upon friend and foe. As 
there was no longer any war, the army had become merely 
the sword of the emperor to maintain his despotism. "Wallen- 
stein had become so essential to the emperor, and possessed 
such power at the head of the army, that he assumed all the 
air and state of a sovereign, and insulted the highest nobles 
and the most powerful bishops by his assumptions of superior- 
ity. The electors of the empire perceiving that the emperor 

12* 



274 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA, 

was centrolizing power in his own hands, and that they would 
soon become merely provincial governors, compelled to obey 
his laws and subject to his appointment and removal, began to 
whisper to eacb other their alarm. 

The Duke of Bavaria was one of the most powerful princes 
of the German empire. He had been the rival of Count Wal- 
lenstein, and was now exceedingly annoyed by the arrogance of 
this haughty military chief. Wallenstein was the emperor's 
right arm of strength. Inflamed by as intense an ambition as 
ever burned in a human bosom, every thought and energy 
was devoted to self-aggrandizement. He had been educated 
a Protestant, but abandoned those views for the Catholic faith 
which opened a more alluring field to ambition. Sacrificing 
the passions of youth he married a widow, infirm and of ad- 
vanced age, but of great wealth. The death of his wrinkled 
bride soon left him the vast property without incumbrance. 
He then entered into a matrimonial alliance which favored 
his political prospects, marrying Isabella, the daughter of 
Count Harruch, who was one of the emperor's greatest fa- 
vorites. 

When Ferdinand's fortunes were at a low ebb, and he knew 
not in which way to find either money or an army, Wallen- 
stein offered to raise fifty thousand men at his own expense, 
to pay their wages, supply them with arms and all the muni- 
tions of war, and to call upon the emperor for no pecuniary 
assistance whatever, if the emperor would allow him to retain 
the plunder he could extort from the conquered. Upon this 
majestic scale Wallenstein planned to act the part of a high- 
wayman. Ferdinand's necessities were so great that he glad- 
ly availed himself of this infamous offer. Wallenstein made 
money by the bargain. Wherever he marched he compelled 
the people to support his army, and to support it luxuriously. 
The emperor had now constituted him admiral of the Baltic 
fleet, and had conferred upon him the title of duke, with the 
splendid duchy of Mecklenburg, and the principality of Sagan 



FERDINAND II. 275 

in Silesia. His overbearing conduct and his enormous extor- 
tions — he having, in seven years, wrested from the German 
princes more than four hundred million of dollars — excited a 
general feeling of discontent/in which the powerful Duke of 
Bavaria took the lead. 

Envy is a stronger passion than political religion. Zealous 
as the Duke of Bavaria had been in the cause of the papal 
church, he now forgot that church in his zeal to abase an ar- 
rogant and insulting rival. Richelieu, the prime minister of 
France, was eagerly watching for opportunities to humiliate 
the house of Austria, and he, with alacrity, met the advances 
of the Duke of Bavaria, and conspired with him to form a Cath- 
olic league, to check the ambition of Wallenstein, and to arrest 
the enormous strides of the emperor. With this object in view, 
a large number of the most powerful Catholic princes met at 
Heidelberg, in March, 1629, and passed resolutions soliciting 
Ferdinand to summon a diet of the German empire to take 
into consideration the evils occasioned by the army of Wallen- 
stein, and to propose a remedy. The emperor had, in his 
arrogance, commanded the princes of the various States in 
the departments of Suabia and Franconia, to disband their 
troops. To this demand they returned the bold and spirited 
reply, 

" Till we have received an indemnification, or a pledge for 
the payment of our expenses, we will neither disband a single 
soldier, nor relinquish a foot of territory, ecclesiastical or secu- 
lar, demand it who willy 

The emperor did not venture to disregard the request for 
him to summon a diet. Indeed he was anxious, on his own 
account, to convene the electors, for he wished to secure the 
election of his son to the throne of the empire, and he needed 
succors to aid him in the ambitious wars which he was waging 
in various and distant parts of Europe. The diet was assem- 
bled at Ratisbon : the emperor presided in person. As he had 
important favors to solicit, he assumed a very conciliatory tone. 



276 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

He expressed his regret that the troops had been guilty of such 
disorders, and promised immediate redress. He then, suppos- 
ing that his promise would be an ample satisfaction, very gra- 
ciously solicited of them the succession of the imperial throne 
for his son, and supplies for his army. 

But the electors were not at all in a pliant mood. Some 
were resolved that, at all hazards, the imperial army, which 
threatened Germany, should be reduced, and that Wallenstein 
should be dismissed from the command. Others were equally 
determined that the crown of the empire should not descend 
to the son of Ferdinand. The Duke of Bavaria headed the 
party who would debase Wallenstein ; and Cardinal Richelieu, 
with all the potent influences of intrigue and bribery at the 
command of the French court, was the soul of the party re- 
solved to wrest the crown of the empire from the bouse of 
Austria. Richelieu sent two of the most accomplished diplo- 
matists France could furnish, as ambassadors to the diet, who, 
while maintaining, as far as possible, the guise of friendship, 
were to do every thing in their power to thwart the election 
of Ferdinand's son. These were supplied with inexhaustible 
means for the purchase of votes, and were authorized to make 
any promises, however extravagant, which should be deemed 
essential for the attainment of their object. 

Ferdinand, long accustomed to have his own way, was not 
anticipating any serious resistance. He was therefore amazed 
and confounded, when the diet returned to him, instead of 
their humble submission and congratulations, a long, detailed, 
emphatic remonstrance against the enormities perpetrated by 
the imperial army, and demanding the immediate reduction 
of the army, now one hundred and fifty thousand strong, and 
the dismission of Wallenstein, before they could proceed to 
any other business whatever. This bold stand animated the 
Protestant princes of the empire, and they began to be clam- 
orous for their rights. Some of the Catholics even, espoused 
their cause, warning Ferdinand that, unless he granted the 



FERDINAND II. 277 

Protestants some degree of toleration, they would seek redress 
by joining the enemies of the empire. 

It would have been impossible to frame three demands 
more obnoxious to the emperor. To crush the Protestants 
had absorbed the energies of his life ; and now that they were 
utterly prostrate, to lift them up and place them on their feet 
again, was an idea he could not endure. The imperial army 
had been his supple tool. By its instrumentality he had 
gained all his power, and by its energies alone he retained 
that power. To disband the army was to leave himself de- 
fenseless. Wallenstein had been every thing to the emperor, 
and Ferdinand still needed the support of his inflexible and 
unscrupulous energies. Wallenstein was in the cabinet of the 
emperor advising him in this hour of perplexity. His counsel 
was characteristic of his impetuous, headlong spirit. He ad- 
vised the emperor to pour his army into the territory of the 
Duke of Bavaria ; chastise him and all his associates for their 
insolence, and thus overawe the rest. But the Duke of Ba- 
varia was in favor of electing the emperor's son as his suc- 
cessor on the throne of the empire ; and Ferdinand's heart 
was fixed upon this object. 

"Dismiss Wallenstein, and reduce the army," said the 
Duke of Bavaria, "and the Catholic electors will vote for 
your son ; grant the required toleration to the Protestants, 
and they will vote for him likewise." 

The emperor yielded, deciding in his own mind, aided by 
the Jesuitical suggestions of a monk, that he could after- 
wards recall Wallenstein, and assemble anew his dispersed 
battalions. He dismissed sixteen thousand of his best cav- 
alry ; suspended some of the most obnoxious edicts against 
the Protestants, and implored Wallenstein to resign his post. 
The emperor was terribly afraid that this proud general would 
refuse, and would lead the army to mutiny. The emperor 
accordingly accompanied his request with every expression 
of gratitude and regret, and assured the general of his con- 



278 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

tinued favor. Wallen stein, well aware that the disgrace 
would be but temporary, quietly yielded. He dismissed the 
envoys of the emperor with presents, wrote a very submis- 
sive letter, and, with much ostentation of obedience, retired 
to private life. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

FERDINAND II. AND GUSTAVUS ADOLPHU& 

From 1629 to 1632. 

Vexation of Ferdinand.— Gustavus Adolphus.— Address to the Nobles of Sweden. 
— March of Gustavus. — Appeal to the Protestants. — Magdeburg joins Gus- 
tavus. — Destruction of the City. — Consternation of tue Protestants. — Ex- 
ultation of the Catholics. —The Elector of Saxony driven from his Domains. — 
Battle of Leipsic. — The Swedes penetrate Bohemia. — Freedom of Conscience 
established. — Death of Tilly. — The Eetirement of Wallenstein.— The Com- 
mand RESUMED BY WALLENSTEIN.— CAPTURE OF PRAGUE. — ENCOUNTER BETWEEN 

Wallenstein and Gustavus.— Battle of Lutzen.— Death of Gustavus. 

THE hand of France was conspicuous in wresting all these 
sacrifices from the emperor, and was then still more con- 
spicuous in thwarting his plans for the election of his son. 
The ambassadors of Richelieu, with diplomatic adroitness, 
urged upon the diet the Duke of Bavaria as candidate for the 
imperial crown. This tempting offer silenced the duke, and 
he could make no more efforts for the emperor. The Prot- 
estants greatly preferred the duke to any one of the race of 
the bigoted Ferdinand. The emperor was excessively cha- 
grined by this aspect of affairs, and abruptly dissolved the diet. 
He felt that he had been duped by France ; that a cunning 
monk, Richelieu's ambassador, had outwitted him. In his 
vexation he exclaimed, " A Capuchin friar has disarmed' me 
with his rosary, and covered six electoral caps with his 
cowl." 

The emperor was meditating vengeance — the recall of 
Wallenstein, the reconstruction of the army, the annulling of 
the edict of toleration, the march of an invading force into the 
territories of the Duke of Bavaria, and the chastisement of 



280 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

all, Catholics as well as Protestants, who had aided in thwart- 
ing his plans — when suddenly a new enemy appeared. Gus- 
tavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, reigning over his remote 
realms on the western shores of the Baltic, though a zealous 
Protestant, was regarded by Ferdinand as a foe too distant 
and too feeble to be either respected or feared. But Gus- 
tavus, a man of exalted abilities, and of vast energy, was 
watching with intense interest the despotic strides of the em- 
peror. In his endeavors to mediate in behalf of the Protest- 
ants of Germany, he had encountered repeated insults on the 
part of Ferdinand. The imperial troops were now approach- 
ing his own kingdom. They had driven Christian IV., King 
of Denmark, from his continental territories on the eastern 
shore of the Baltic, had already taken possession of several of 
the islands, and were constructing a fleet which threatened 
the command of that important sea. Gustavus was alarmed, 
and roused himself to assume the chamj)ionship of the civil 
and religious liberties of Europe. He conferred with all the 
leading Protestant princes, formed alliances, secured funds, 
stationed troops to protect his own frontiers, and then, as- 
sembling the States of his kingdom, entailed the succession 
of the crown on his only child Christiana, exj)lained to them 
his plans of war against the emperor, and concluded a digni- 
fied and truly pathetic harangue with the following words. 

"The enterprise in which I am about to engage is not 
one dictated by the love of conquest or by personal ambition. 
Our honor, our religion and our independence are imperiled. 
I am to encounter great dangers, and may fall upon the field 
of battle. If it be God's will that I should die in the defense 
of liberty, of my country and of mankind, I cheerfully surren- 
der myself to the sacrifice. It is my duty as a sovereign to 
obey the King of kings without murmuring, and to resign the 
j:>ower I have received from His hands whenever it shall suit 
His all-wise purposes. I shall yield up my last breath with the 
firm persuasion that Providence will support my subjects be- 



FEEDINAND II. AND GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 281 

cause they are faithful and virtuous, and that my ministers, 
generals and senators will punctually discharge their duty to 
my child because they love justice, respect me, and feel for 
their country." 

The king himself was affected as he uttered these words, 
and tears moistened the eyes of many of the stern warriors 
who surrounded him. With general acclaim they approved of 
his plan, voted him all the succors he required, and enthusi- 
astically offered their own fortunes and lives to his service. 
Gustavus assembled a fleet at Elfsnaben, crossed the Baltic 
sea, and in June, 1630, landed thirty thousand troops in 
Pomerania, which Wallenstein had overrun. The imperial 
army, unprepared for such an assault, fled before the Swedish 
king. Marching rapidly, Gustavus took Stettin, the capital 
of the duchy, situated at the mouth of the Oder, and com- 
manding that stream. Driving the imperial troops everywhere 
before him from Pomerania, and pursuing them into the ad- 
joining Mark of Brandenburg, he took possession of a large part 
of that territory. He issued a proclamation to the inhabitants 
of Germany, recapitulating the arbitrary and despotic acts of 
the emperor, and calling upon all Protestants to aid in an en- 
terprise, in the success of which the very existence of Protest- 
antism in Germany seemed to be involved. But so utterly 
had the emperor crushed the spirits of the Protestants by his 
fiend-like severity, that but few ventured to respond to his 
appeal. The rulers, however, of many of the Protestant 
States met at Leipsic, and without venturing to espouse the 
cause of Gustavus, and without even alluding to his invasion, 
they addressed a letter to the emperor demanding a redress 
of grievances, and informing him that they had decided to 
establish a permanent council for the direction of their own 
affairs, and to raise an army of forty thousand men for their 
own protection. 

Most of these events had occurred while the emperor, with 
Wallenstein, was at Ratisbon, intriguing to secure the succes- 



282 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

sion of the imperial crown for his son. They both looked upon 
the march of the King of Sweden into the heart of Germany 
as the fool-hardy act of a mad adventurer. The courtiers ridi- 
culed his transient conquests, saying, " Gustavus Adolphus is 
a king of snow. Like a snowball he will melt in a southern 
clime." Wallenstein was particularly contemptuous. " I will 
whip him back to his country," said he, " like a truant school- 
boy, with rods." Ferdinand was for a time deceived by these 
representations, and was by no means aware of the real peril 
which threatened him. The diet which the emperor had as- 
sembled made a proclamation of war against Gustavus, but 
adopted no measures of energy adequate to the occasion. The 
emperor sent a silly message to Gustavus that if he did not 
retire immediately from Germany he would attack him with 
his whole force. To this folly Gustavus returned a contempt- 
uous reply. 

A few of the minor Protestant princes now ventured to 
take arms and join the standard of Gustavus. The important 
city of Magdeburg, in Saxony, on the Elbe, espoused his cause. 
This city, with its bastions and outworks completely com- 
manding the Elbe, formed one of the strongest fortresses of 
Europe. It contained, exclusive of its strong garrison, thirty 
thousand inhabitants. It was now evident to Ferdinand that 
vigorous action was called for. He could not, consistently 
with his dignity, recall Wallenstein in the same breath with 
which he had dismissed him. He accordingly concentrated 
his troops and placed them under the command of Count 
Tilly. The imperial troops were dispatched to Magdeburg. 
They surrounded the doomed city, assailed it furiously, and 
proclaimed their intention of making it a signal mark of im- 
perial vengeance. Notwithstanding the utmost efforts of 
Gustavus to hasten to their relief, he was foiled in his en 
deavors, and the town was carried by assault on the 10th of 
May. Never, perhaps, did earth witness a more cruel exhi 
bition of the horrors of war. The soul sickens in the contem- 



FEEDINAND II. AND GUSTAVTJS AD0LPHUS. 283 

plation of outrages so fiend-like. We prefer to give the nar- 
rative of these deeds, which it is the duty of history to record, 
in the language of another. 

" All the horrors ever exercised against a captured place 
were repeated and almost surpassed, on this dreadful event, 
which, notwithstanding all the subsequent disorders and the 
lapse of time, is still fresh in the recollection of its inhabitants 
and of Germany. Neither age, beauty nor innocence, neither 
infancy nor decrepitude, found refuge or compassion from the 
fury of the licentious soldiery. ~No retreat was sufficiently se- 
cure to escape their rapacity and vengeance ; no sanctuary 
sufficiently sacred to repress their lust and cruelty. Infants 
were murdered before the eyes of their parents, daughters 
and wives violated in the arms of their fathers and husbands. 
Some of the imperial officers, recoiling from this terrible scene, 
flew to Count Tilly and supplicated him to put a stop to the 
carnage. ' Stay yet an hour,' was his barbarous reply ; ' let 
the soldier have some compensation for his dangers and fa- 
tigues.' 

" The troops, left to themselves, after sating their passions, 
and almost exhausting their cruelty in three hours of pillage 
and massacre, set fire to the town, and the flames were in an 
instant spread by the wind to every quarter of the place. 
Then opened a scene which surpassed all the former horrors. 
Those who had hitherto escaped, or who were forced by the 
flames from their hiding-places, experienced a more dreadful 
fate. Numbers were driven into the Elbe, others massacred 
with every species of savage barbarity — the wombs of preg- 
nant women ripped up, and infants thrown into the fire or 
impaled on pikes and suspended over the flames. History has 
no terms, poetry no language, painting no colors to depict 
all the horrors of the scene. In less than ten hours the most 
rich, the most flourishing and the most populous town in Ger- 
many was reduced to ashes. The cathedral, a single convent 
and a few miserable huts, were all that were left of its numer 



284 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

ous buildings, and scarcely more than a thousand souls all that 
remained of more than thirty thousand inhabitants. 

" After an interval of two days, when the soldiers were 
fatigued, if not sated, with devastation and slaughter, and when 
the flames had begun to subside, Tilly entered the town in tri- 
umph. To make room for his passage the streets were cleared 
and six thousand carcasses thrown into the Elbe. He ordered 
the pillage to cease, pardoned the scanty remnant of the in- 
habitants, who had taken refuge in the cathedral, and, sur- 
rounded by flames and carnage, had remained three days with- 
out food or refreshment, under all the terrors of impending 
fate. After hearing a Te Deum in the midst of military pomp, 
he paraded the streets ; and even though his unfeeling heart 
seemed touched with the horrors of the scene, he could not 
refrain from the savage exultation of boasting to the emperor, 
and comparing the assault of Magdeburg to the sack of Troy 
and of Jerusalem." 

This terrible display of vengeance struck the Protestants 
with consternation. The extreme Catholic party were exult- 
ant, and their chiefs met in a general assembly and passed res- 
olutions approving the course of the emperor and pledging 
him their support. Ferdinand was much encouraged by this 
change in his favor, and declared his intention of silencing all 
Protestant voices. He recalled an army of twenty-four thou- 
sand men from Italy. They crossed the Alps, and, as they 
marched through the frontier States of the empire, they spread 
devastation and ruin through all the Protestant territories, 
exacting enormous contributions, compelling the Protestant 
princes, on oath, to renounce the Protestant league, and to unite 
with the Catholic confederacy against the King of Sweden. 

In the meantime, Gustavus pressed forward into the duchy 
of Mecklenburg, driving the imperial troops before him. Tilly 
retired into the territory of the Elector of Saxony, robbing, 
burning and destroying everywhere. Uniting his force with 
the army from Italy he ravaged the country, resistlessly ad- 



FERDINAND II. AND GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 285 

vancing even to Leipsic, and capturing the city. The elector, 
quite unable to cope with so powerful a foe, retired with his 
troops to the Swedish camp, where he entered into an offensive 
and defensive alliance with Gustavus. The Swedish army, 
thus reinforced, hastened to the relief of Leipsic, and arrived 
before its walls the very day on which the city surrendered. 

Tilly, with the pride of a conqueror, advanced to meet 
them. The two armies, about equal in numbers, and com- 
manded by their renowned captains, met but a few miles from 
the city. Neither of the commanders had ever before suffered 
a defeat. It was a duel, in which one or the other must fall. 
Every soldier in the ranks felt the sublimity of the hour. For 
some time there was marching and countermarching — the 
planting of batteries, and the gathering of squadrons and solid 
columns, each one hesitating to strike the first blow. At last 
the signal was given by the discharge of three pieces of cannon 
from one of the batteries of Tilly. Instantly a thunder peal rolled 
along the extended lines from wing to wing. The awful work 
of death was begun. Hour after hour the fierce and bloody 
fight continued, as the surges of victory and defeat swept to 
and fro upon the plain. But the ever uncertain fortune of bat- 
tle decided in favor of the Swedes. As the darkness of even- 
ing came prematurely on, deepened by the clouds of smoke 
which canopied the field, the imperialists were everywhere 
flying in dismay. Tilly, having been struck by three balls, 
was conveyed from the field in excruciating pain to a retreat 
in Halle. Seven thousand of his troops lay dead upon the 
field. Five thousand were taken prisoners. All the imperial 
artillery and baggage fell into the hands of the conqueror. 
The rest of the army was so dispersed that but two thousand 
could be rallied under the imperial banners. 

Gustavus, thus triumphant, dispatched a portion of his army, 
under the Elector of Saxony, to rescue Bohemia from the ty- 
rant grasp of the emperor. Gustavus himself, with another 
portion, maiched in various directions to cut off the resources 



286 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

of the enemy and to combine the scattered parts of the Prot- 
estant confederacy. His progress was like the tranquil march 
of a sovereign in his own dominions, greeted by the enthusi- 
asm of his subjects. He descended the Maine to the Rhine, 
and then ascending the Rhine, took every fortress from Maine 
to Strasbourg. While Gustavus was thus extending his con- 
quests through the very heart of Germany, the Elector of Sax- 
ony reclaimed all of Bohemia from the imperial arms. Prague 
itself capitulated to the Saxon troops. Count Thurn led the 
Saxon troops in triumph over the same bridge which he, but a 
few months before, had traversed a fugitive. He found, im- 
paled upon the bridge, the shriveled heads of twelve of his 
companions, which he enveloped in black satin and buried 
with funeral honors. 

The Protestants of Bohemia rose enthusiastically to greet 
their deliverers. Their churches, schools and universities were 
reestablished. Their preachers resumed their functions. Many 
returned from exile and rejoiced in the restoration of their 
confiscated property. The Elector of Saxony retaliated upon 
the Catholics the cruel wrongs which they had inflicted upon 
the Protestants. Their castles were plundered, their nobles 
driven into exile, and the conquerors loaded themselves with 
the spoils of the vanquished. 

But Ferdinand, as firm and inexorable in adversity as in 
prosperity, bowed not before disaster. He roused the Catho- 
lics to a sense of their danger, organized new coalitions, raised 
new armies. Tilly, with recruited forces, was urged on to ar- 
rest the march of the conqueror. Burning under the sense of 
shame for his defeat at Leipsic, he placed himself at the head 
of his veterans, fell, struck by a musket-ball, and died, after a 
few days of intense suffering, at the age of seventy- three. 
The vast Austrian empire, composed of so many heterogeneous 
States, bound together only by the iron energy of Ferdinand, 
seemed now upon the eve of its dissolution. The Protestants, 
who composed, in most of the States a majority, were cordially 



FERDINAND II. AND GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 287 

rallying beneath the banners of Gustavus. They had been in 
a state of despair. They now rose in exalted hope. Many of 
the minor princes who had been nominally Catholics, but whose 
Christian creeds were merely political dogmas, threw them- 
selves into the arms of Gustavus. Even the Elector of Bavaria 
was so helpless in his isolation, that, champion as he had been 
of the Catholic party, there seemed to be no salvation for him 
but in abandoning the cause of Ferdinand. Gustavus was now, 
with a victorious army, in the heart of Germany. He was in 
possession of the whole western country from the Baltic to the 
frontiers of France, and apparently a majority of the popula- 
tion were in sympathy with him. 

Ferdinand at first resolved, in this dire extremity, to as- 
sume himself the command of his armies, and in person to enter 
the field. This was heroic madness, and his friends soon con- 
vinced him of the folly of one so inexperienced in the arts of 
war undertaking to cope with Gustavus Adolphus, now the 
most experienced and renowned captain in Europe. He then 
thought of appointing his son, the Archduke Ferdinand, com- 
mander-in-chief. But Ferdinand was but twenty-three years 
of age, and though a young man of decided abilities, was by 
no means able to encounter on the field the skill and heroism 
of the Swedish warrior. In this extremity, Ferdinand was 
compelled to turn his eyes to his discarded general Wal- 
lenstein. 

This extraordinary man, in renouncing, at the command 
of his sovereign, his military supremacy, retired with bound- 
less wealth, and assumed a style of living surpassing even 
regal splendor. His gorgeous palace at Prague was patrolled 
by sentinels. A body-guard of fifty halberdiers, in sumptuous 
uniform, ever waited in his ante-chamber. Twelve nobles at- 
tended his person, and four gentlemen ushers introduced to 
his presence those whom he condescended to favor with an 
audience. Sixty pages, taken from the most illustrious fami- 
lies, embellished his courts. His steward was a baron of the 



288 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

highest rank ; and even the chamberlain of the emperor had 
left Ferdinand's court, that he might serve in the more 
princely palace of this haughty subject. A hundred guests 
dined daily at his table. His gardens and parks were em- 
bellished with more than oriental magnificence. Even his 
stables were furnished with marble mangers, and supplied 
with water from an ever-living fountain. Upon his journeys 
he was accompanied by a suite of twelve coaches of state and 
fifty carriages. A large retinue of wagons conveyed his plate 
and equipage. Fifty mounted grooms followed with fifty led 
horses richly caparisoned.* 

Wallenstein watched the difficulties gathering around the 
emperor with satisfaction which he could not easily disguise. 
Though intensely eager to be restored to the command of 
the armies, he affected an air of great indifference, and when 
the emperor suggested his restoration, he very adroitly played 
the coquette. The emperor at first proposed that his son, the 
Archduke Ferdinand, should nominally have the command, 
while Wallenstein should be his executive and advisory gen- 
eral. " I would not serve," said the impious captain, " as sec- 
ond in command under God Himself," 

After long negotiation, Wallenstein, with well-feigned re- 
luctance, consented to relinquish for a few weeks the sweets 
of private life, and to recruit an army, and bring it under 
suitable discipline. He, however, limited the time of his 
command to three months. With his boundless wealth and 
amazing energy, he immediately set all springs in motion. 
Adventurers from all parts of Europe, lured by the splendor 
of his past achievements, crowded his ranks. In addition to 
his own vast opulence, the pope and the ccurt of Spain opened 
freely to him their purses. As by magic he was in a few 
weeks at the head of forty thousand men. In companies, 
regiments and battalions they were incessantly drilled, and 
by the close of three months this splendid army, thoroughly 
* Coxe's "House of Austria," ii., 254. 



FERDINAND II. AND GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 289 

furnished, and in the highest state of discipline, was presented 
to the emperor. Every step he had taken had convinced, 
and was intended to convince Ferdinand that his salvation 
depended upon the energies of Wallen stein. Gustavus was 
now, in the full tide of victory, marching from the Rhine 
to the Danube, threatening to press his conquests even to 
Vienna. Ferdinand was compelled to assume the attitude 
of a suppliant, and to implore his proud general to accept the 
command of which he had so recently been deprived. Wal- 
lenstein exacted terms so humiliating as in reality to divest 
the emperor of his imperial power. He was to be declared 
generalissimo of all the forces of the empire, and to be in- 
vested with unlimited authority. The emperor pledged him- 
self that neither he nor his son would, ever enter the camp. 
Wallenstein was to appoint all his officers, distribute all re- 
wards, and the emperor was not allowed to grant either a 
pardon or a safe-conduct without the confirmation of Wallen- 
stein. The general was to levy what contribution he pleased 
upon the vanquished enemy, confiscate property, and no peace 
or truce was to be made with the enemy without his consent. 
Finally, he was to receive, either from the spoils of the enemy, 
or from the hereditary States of the empire, princely remu- 
neration for his services. 

Armed with such enormous power, Wallenstein consented 
to place himself at the head of the army. He marched to 
Prague, and without difficulty took the city. Gradually he 
drove the Saxon troops from all their fortresses in Bohemia. 
Then advancing to Bavaria, he effected a junction with Ba- 
varian troops, and found himself sufficiently strong to attempt 
to arrest the march of Gustavus. The imperial force now 
amounted to sixty thousand men. Wallenstein was so san- 
guine of success, that he boasted that in a few days he would 
decide the question, whether Gustavus Adolphus or Wallen- 
stein was to be master of the world. The Swedish king was 
at Nuremberg with but twenty thousand men, when he heard 

13 



290 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

of the approach of the imperial army, three times outnumber- 
ing his own. Disdaining to retreat, he threw up redoubts, and 
prepared for a desperate defense. As Wallenstein brought 
up his heavy battalions, he was so much overawed by the 
military genius which Gustavus had displayed in his strong 
intrenchments, and by the bold front which the Swedes pre- 
sented, that notwithstanding his boast, he did not dare to 
hazard an attack. He accordingly threw up intrenchments 
opposite the works of the Swedes, and there the two armies 
remained, looking each other in the face for eight weeks, 
neither daring to withdraw from behind their intrenchments, 
and each hoping to starve the other party out. Gustavus did 
every thing in his power to provoke Wallenstein to the at- 
tack, but the wary general, notwithstanding the importunities 
of his officers, and the clamors of his soldiers, refused to risk 
an engagement. Both parties were all the time strengthening 
their intrenchments and gathering reinforcements. 

At last Gustavus resolved upon an attack. He led his 
troops against the intrenchments of Wallenstein, which re- 
sembled a fortress rather than a camp. The Swedes clambered 
over the intrenchments, and assailed the imperialists with as 
much valor and energy as mortals ever exhibited. They were, 
however, with equal fury repelled, and after a long conflict 
were compelled to retire again behind their fortifications with 
the loss of three thousand of their best troops. For another 
fortnight the two armies remained watching each other, and 
then Gustavus, leaving a strong garrison in Nuremberg, slowly 
and defiantly retired. Wallenstein stood so much in fear of 
the tactics of Gustavus that he did not even venture to molest 
his retreat. During this singular struggle of patient endur- 
ance, both armies suffered fearfully from sickness and famine. 
In the city of Nuremberg ten thousand perished. Gustavus 
buried twenty thousand of his men beneath his intrenchments. 
And in the imperial army, after the retreat of Gustavus, but 
thirty thousand troops were left to answer the roll-call. 



FERDINAND II. AND GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 291 

Wallenstein claimed, and with justice, the merit of having 
arrested the steps of Gustavus, though he could not boast of 
any very chivalrous exploits. After various maneuvering, and 
desolating marches, the two armies, with large reinforcements, 
met at Lutzen, about thirty miles from Leipsic. It was in the 
edge of the evening when they arrived within sight of each 
other's banners. Both parties passed an anxious night, pre- 
paring for the decisive battle which the dawn of the morning 
would usher in. 

Wallenstein was fearfully alarmed. He had not willingly 
met his dreaded antagonist, and would now gladly escape the 
issues of battle. He called a council of war, and even sug- 
gested a retreat. But it was decided that such an attempt in 
the night, and while watched by so able and vigilant a foe, 
would probably involve the army in irretrievable ruin, besides 
exposing hi3 own name to deep disgrace. The imperial troops, 
thirty thousand strong, quite outnumbered the army of Gus- 
tavus, and the officers of Wallenstein unanimously advised to 
give battle. Wallenstein was a superstitious man and deeply 
devoted to astrological science. He consulted his astrologers, 
and they declared the stars to be unpropitious to Gustavus. 
This at once decided him. He resolved, however, to act on 
the defensive, and through the night employed the energies of 
his army in throwing up intrenchments. In the earliest dawn 
of the morning mass was celebrated throughout the whole 
camp, and Wallenstein on horseback rode along behind the 
redoubts, urging his troops, by every consideration, to fight 
valiantly for their emperor and their religion. 

The morning was dark and lowering, and such an impene- 
trable fog enveloped the armies that they were not visible to 
each other. It was near noon ere the fog arose, and the two 
armies, in the full blaze of an unclouded sun, gazed, awe- 
stricken, upon each other. The imperial troops and the Swed- 
ish troops were alike renowned ; and Gustavus Adolphus and 
Wallenstein were, by universal admission, the two ablest cap- 



292 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

tains in Europe. Neither force could even affect to despise 
the other. The scene unfolded, as the vapor swept away, was 
one which even war has seldom presented. The vast plain 
of Lutzen extended many miles, almost as smooth, level and 
treeless as a western prairie. Through the center of this plain 
ran a nearly straight and wide road. On one side of this 
road, in long line, extending one or two miles, was the army 
of Wallenstein. His whole front was protected by a ditch and 
redoubts bristling with bayonets. Behind these intrenchments 
his army was extended ; the numerous and well-mounted cav- 
alry at the wings, the artillery, in ponderous batteries, at the 
center, with here and there solid squares of infantry to meet 
the rush of the assailing columns. On the other side of the 
road, and within musket-shot, were drawn up in a parallel line 
the troops of Gustavus. He had interspersed along his double 
line bands of cavalry, with artillery and platoons of musket- 
eers, that he might be prepared from any point to make or 
repel assault. The whole host stood reverently, with uncovered 
heads, as a public prayer was offered. The Psalm which Watts 
has so majestically versified was read — 

" God is the refuge of his saints, 

When storms of dark distress invade ; 
Ere we can offer our complaints, 
Behold him present with his aid. 

"Let mountains from their seats be hurled 
Down to the deep, and buried there, 
Convulsions shake the solid world ; 
Our faith shall never yield to fear." 

From twenty thousand voices the solemn hymn arose and 
floated over the field— celestial songs, to be succeeded by de- 
moniac clangor. Both parties appealed to the God of bat- 
tle ; both parties seemed to feel that their cause was just. 
Alas for man ! 

Gustavus now ordered the attack. A solid column emerged 
from his ranks, crossed the road, in breathless silence ap- 
proached the trendies, while both armies looked on. They 



FEEDINAND II. AND GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 293 

were received with a volcanic sheet of flame which pros- 
trated half of them bleeding upon the sod. Gustavus or- 
dered column after column to follow on to support the assail- 
ants, and to pierce the enemy's center. In his zeal he threw 
himself from his horse, seized a pike, and rushed to head the 
attack. Wallenstein energetically ordered up cavalry and ar- 
tillery to strengthen the point so fiercely assailed. And now 
the storm of war blazed along the whole lines. A sulphureous 
canopy settled down over the contending hosts, and thunder- 
ings, shrieks, clangor as of Pandemonium, filled the air. The 
king, as reckless of life as if he had been the meanest soldier, 
rushed to every spot where the battle raged the fiercest. 
Learning that his troops upon the left were yielding to the 
imperial fire, he mounted his horse and was galloping across 
the field swept by the storm of war, when a bullet struck his 
arm and shattered the bone. Almost at the same moment 
another bullet struck his breast, and he fell mortally wounded 
from his horse, exclaiming, " My God ! my God !" 

The command now devolved upon the Duke of Saxe Wei- 
mar. The horse of Gustavus, galloping along the lines, con- 
veyed to the whole army the dispiriting intelligence that their 
beloved chieftain had fallen. The duke spread the report that 
he was not killed, but taken prisoner, and summoned all to the 
rescue. This roused the Swedes to superhuman exertions. 
They rushed over the ramparts, driving the infantry back upon 
the cavalry, and the whole imperial line was thrown into con- 
fusion. Just at that moment, when both parties were in the 
extreme of exhaustion, when the Swedes were shouting vic- 
tory and the imperialists were flying in dismay, General 
Pappenheim, w r ith eight fresh regiments of imperial cavalry, 
came galloping upon the field. This seemed at once to restore 
the battle to the imperialists, and the Swedes were apparently 
undone. But just then a chance bullet struck Pappenheim 
and he fell, mortally wounded, from his horse. The cry ran 
through the imperia. ranks, "Pappenheim is killed and the 



294 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

battle is lost." No further efforts of Wallenstein were of any 
avail to arrest the confusion. His whole host turned and fled. 
Fortunately for them, the darkness of the approaching night, 
and a dense fog settling upon the plain, concealed them from 
their pursuers. During the night the imperialists retired, and 
in the morning the Swedes found themselves in possession of 
the field with no foe in sight. But the Swedes had no heart 
to exult over their victory. The loss of their beloved king 
was a greater calamity than any defeat could have been. His 
mangled body was found, covered with blood, in the midst of 
heaps of the slain, and so much mutilated with the tramplings 
of cavalry as to be with difficulty recognized. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

FERDINAND II., FERDINAND III. AND LEOPOLD I 

From 1632 to 1662. 

Character of Gustavus Adolphus. — Exultation of the Imperialists. — Disgrace 
of Wallenstein. — He offers to surrender to the Swedish General. — His 
Assassination. — Ferdinand's Son elected as his Successor. — Death of Fer- 
dinand.— Close of the "War.— Abdication of Christina.— Charles Gustavub. 
— Preparations for War. — Death of Ferdinand III. — Leopold elected Em- 
peror. — Hostilities Renewed.— Death of Charles Gustavus. — Diet convened. 
— Invasion of the Turks. 

THE battle of Lutzen was fought on the 16th of November, 
1632. It is generally estimated that the imperial troops 
were forty thousand, while there were but twenty-seven thou- 
sand in the Swedish army. Gustavus was then thirty-eight 
years of age. A plain stone still marks the spot where he fell. 
A few poplars surround it, and it has become a shrine visited 
by strangers from all parts of the world. Traces of his blood 
are still shown in the town-house of Lutzen, where his body 
was transported from the fatal field. The buff waistcoat he 
wore in the engagement, pierced by the bullet which took his 
life, is preserved as a trophy in the arsenal at Vienna. 

Both as a monarch and a man, this illustrious sovereign 
stands in the highest ranks. He possessed the peculiar power 
of winning the ardent attachment of all who approached him. 
Every soldier in the army was devoted to him, for he shared 
all their toils and perils. " Cities," he said, " are not taken by 
keeping in tents ; as scholars, in the absence of the master, 
shut their books, so my troops, without my presence, would 
slacken their blows." 

In very many traits of character he resembled Napoleon, 



296 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

combining in his genius the highest attributes of the statesman 
and the soldier. Like Napoleon he was a predestinarian, be- 
lieving himself the child of Providence, raised for the accom- 
plishment of great purposes, and that the decrees of his des- 
tiny no foresight could thwart. "When urged to spare his 
person in the peril of battle, he replied, 

" My hour is written in heaven, and can not be reversed." 
Frederic, the unhappy Elector of the Palatine, and King of 
Bohemia, who had been driven from his realms by Ferdinand, 
and who, for some years, had been wandering from court to 
court in Europe, seeking an asylum, was waiting at Mentz, 
trusting that the success of the armies of Gustavus would soon 
restore him to his throne. The death of the king shattered 
all his hopes. Disappointment and chagrin threw him into a 
fever of which he died, in the thirty-ninth year of his age. 
The death of Gustavus was considered by the Catholics such 
a singular interposition of Providence in their behalf, that, 
regardless of the disaster of Lutzen, they surrendered them- 
selves to the most enthusiastic joy. Even in Spain bells were 
rung, and the streets of Madrid blazed with bonfires and illu- 
minations. At Vienna it was regarded as a victory, and Te 
Deums were chanted in the cathedral. Ferdinand, however, 
conducted with a decorum which should be recorded to his 
honor. He expressed the fullest appreciation of the grand 
qualities of Jbis opponent, and in graceful words regretted his 
untimely death. When the bloody waistcoat, perforated by 
the bullet, was shown him, he turned from it with utterances 
of sadness and regret. Even if this were all feigned, it shows 
a sense of external propriety worthy of record. 

It was the genius of Gustavus alone which had held to- 
gether the Protestant confederacy. No more aid of any effi- 
ciency could be anticipated from Sweden. Christina, the 
daughter and heiress of Gustavus, was in her seventh year. 
The crown was claimed by her cousin Ladislaus, the King of 
Poland, and this disputed succession threatened the kingdom 



FERDINAND II. 297 

with the calamities of civil war. The Senate of Sweden in 
this emergence conducted with great prudence. That they 
might secure an honorable peace they presented a bold front 
of war. A council of regency was appointed, abundant suc- 
cors in men and money voted, and the Chancellor Oxenstiern, 
a man of commanding civil and military talents, was intrusted 
with the sole conduct of the war. The Senate declared the 
young queen the legitimate successor to the throne, and for- 
bade all allusion to the claims of Ladislaus, under the penalty 
of high treason. 

Oxenstiern proved himself worthy to be the successor of 
Gustavus. He vigorously renewed alliances with the German 
princes, and endeavored to follow out the able plans sketched 
by the departed monarch. Wallenstein, humiliated by his de- 
feat, had fallen back into Bohemia, and now, with moderation 
strangely inconsistent with his previous career, urged the em- 
peror to conciliate the Protestants by publishing a decree of 
general amnesty, and by proposing peace on favorable terms. 
But the iron will of Ferdinand was inflexible. In heart, exult- 
ing that his most formidable foe was removed, he resolved with 
unrelenting vigor to prosecute the war. The storm of battle 
raged anew ; and to the surprise of Ferdinand, Oxenstiern 
moved forward with strides of victory as signal as those of 
his illustrious predecessor. Wallenstein meanly attempted to 
throw the blame of the disaster at Lutzen upon the alleged 
cowardice of his officers. Seventeen of them he hanged, and 
consigned fifty others to infamy by inscribing their names 
upon the gallows. 

So haughty a man could not but have many enemies at 
court. They combined, and easily persuaded Ferdinand, who 
had also been insulted by his arrogance, again to degrade 
him. Wallenstein, informed of their machinations, endeav- 
ored to rally the army to a mutiny in his favor. Ferdinand, 
alarmed by this intelligence, which even threatened his own 
dethronement, immediately dismissed Wallenstein from the 

13* 



298 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

command, and dispatched officers from Vienna to seize his 
person, dead or alive. This roused Wallenstein to despera- 
tion. Having secured the cooperation of his leading officers, 
he dispatched envoys to the Swedish camp, offering to sur- 
render important fortresses to Oxenstiern, and to join him 
against the emperor. It was an atrocious act of treason, and 
so marvellous in its aspect, that Oxenstiern regarded it as 
mere duplicity on the part of Wallenstein, intended to lead 
him into a trap. He therefore dismissed the envoy, rejecting 
the offer. His officers now abandoned him, and Gallas, who 
was appointed as his successor, took command of the army. 

With a few devoted adherents, and one regiment of troops, 
he took refuge in the strong fortress of Egra, hoping to main- 
tain himself there until he could enter into some arrangement 
with the Swedes. The officers around him, whom he had 
elevated and enriched by his iniquitous bounty, entered into a 
conspiracy to purchase the favor of the emperor by the as- 
sassination of their doomed general. It was a very difficult 
enterprise, and one which exposed the conspirators to the 
most imminent peril. 

On the 25th of February, 1634, the conspirators gave a 
magnificent entertainment in the castle. They sat long at the 
table, wine flowed freely, and as the darkness of night envel- 
oped the castle, fourteen men, armed to the teeth, rushed into 
the banqueting hall from two opposite doors, and fell upon 
the friends of Wallenstein. Though thus taken by surprise, 
they fought fiercely, and killed several of their assailants be- 
fore they were cut down. They all, however, were soon dis- 
patched. The conspirators, fifty in number, then ascended 
the stairs of the castle to the chamber of Wallenstein. They 
cut down the sentinel at his door, and broke into the room. 
Wallenstein had retired to his bed, but alarmed by the clamor, 
he arose, and was standing at the window in his shirt, shouting 
from it to the soldiers for assistance. 

" Are you," exclaimed one of the conspirators, " the traitor 



FERDINAND II. 299 

who is going to deliver the imperial troops to the enemy, and 
tear the crown from the head of the emperor ?" 

Wallenstein was perfectly helpless. He looked around, 
and deigned no reply. " You must die," continued the con- 
spirator, advancing with his halberd. Wallenstein, in silence, 
opened his arms to receive the blow. The sharp blade pierced 
his body, and he fell dead upon the floor. The alarm now 
spread through the town. The soldiers seized their arms, and 
flocked to avenge their general. But the leading friends of 
Wallenstein were slain ; and the other ofiicers easily satisfied the 
fickle soldiery that their general was a traitor, and with rather 
a languid cry of "Long live Ferdinand," they returned to duty. 

Two of the leading assassins hastened to Vienna to inform 
the emperor of the deed they had perpetrated. It was wel- 
come intelligence to Ferdinand, and he finished the work 
they had thus commenced by hanging and beheading the ad- 
herents of Wallenstein without mercy. The assassins were 
abundantly rewarded. The emperor still prosecuted the war 
with perseverance, which no disasters could check. Grad- 
ually the imperial arms gained the ascendency. The Prot- 
estant princes became divided and jealous of each other. The 
emperor succeeded in detaching from the alliance, and nego- 
tiating a separate peace with the powerful Electors of Saxony 
and Brandenburg. He then assembled a diet at Ratisbon on 
the 15th of September, 1639, and without much difficulty 
secured the election of his son Ferdinand to succeed him on 
the imperial throne. The emperor presided at this diet in 
person. He was overjoyed in the attainment of this great ob- 
ject of his ambition. He was now fifty-nine years of age, in 
very feeble health, and quite worn out by a life of incessant 
anxiety and toil. He returned to Vienna, and in four months, 
on the 15th of February, 1637, breathed his last. 

For eighteen years Germany had now been distracted by 
war. The contending parties were so exasperated against 
each other, that no human wisdom could, at once, allay the 



300 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

strife. The new king and emperor, Ferdinand III., wished for 
peace, but he could not obtain it on terms which he thought 
honorable to the memory of his father. The Swedish army- 
was still in Germany, aided by the Protestant princes of the 
empire, and especially by the armies and the treasury of 
France. The thunders of battle were daily heard, and the 
paths of these hostile bands were ever marked by smoldering 
ruins and blood. Vials of woe were emptied, unsurpassed in 
apocalyptic vision. In the siege of Brisac, the wretched in- 
habitants were reduced to such a condition of starvation, that 
a guard was stationed at the burying ground to prevent them 
from devouring the putrid carcasses of the dead. 

For eleven years history gives us nothing but a dismal 
record of weary marches, sieges, battles, bombardments, con- 
flagrations, and all the unimaginable brutalities and miseries 
of war. The war had now raged for thirty years. Hundreds 
of thousands of lives had been lost. Millions of property had 
been destroyed, and other millions squandered in the arts of 
destruction. Nearly all Europe had been drawn into this vor- 
tex of fury and misery. All parties were now weary. And yet 
seven years of negotiation had been employed before they 
could consent to meet to consult upon a general peace. At 
length congresses of the belligerent powers were assembled 
in two important towns of Westphalia, Osnabruck and Mini- 
ster. Ridiculous disputes upon etiquette rendered this divis- 
ion of the oongress necessary. The ministers of electors en- 
ioyed the title of excellency. The ministers of princes claimed 
the same title. Months were employed in settling that 
question. Then a difficulty arose as to the seats at table, who 
were entitled to the positions of honor. After long debate, 
this point was settled by having a large round table made, to 
which there could be no head and no foot. 

For four years the great questions of European policy 
were discussed by this assembly. The all-important treaty, 
known in history as the peace of Westphalia, and which es- 



FERDINAND III. 301 

tablished the general condition of Europe for one hundred 
and fifty years, was signed on the 24th of October, 1648. The 
contracting parties included all the great and nearly all the 
minor powers of Europe. The articles of this renowned treaty 
are vastly too voluminous to be recorded here. The family 
of Frederic received back the Palatinate of which he had 
been deprived. The Protestants were restored to nearly all 
the rights which they had enjoyed under the beneficent reign 
of Maximilian II. The princes of the German empire, kings, 
dukes, electors, marquises, princes, of whatever name, pledged 
themselves not to oppress those of their subjects who differed 
from them in religious faith. The pope protested against this 
toleration, but his protest was disregarded. The German em- 
pire lost its unity, and became a conglomeration of three hun- 
dred independent sovereignties. Each petty prince or duke, 
though possessing but a few square miles of territory, was 
recognized as a sovereign power, entitled to its court, its 
army, and its foreign alliances. The emperor thus lost much 
of that power which he had inherited from his ancestors ; as 
those princes, whom he had previously regarded as vassals, 
now shared with him sovereign dignity. 

Ferdinand III., however, weary of the war which for so 
many years had allowed him not an hour of repose, gladly ac- 
ceded to these terms of peace, and in good faith employed 
himself in carrying out the terms of the treaty. After the 
exchange of ratifications another congress was assembled at 
Nuremburg to settle some of the minute details, which contin- 
ued in session two years, when at length, in 1651, the armies 
were disbanded, and Germany was released from the presence 
of a foreign foe. 

Internal peace being thus secured, Ferdinand was anxious, 
before his death, to secure the succession of the imperial crown 
to his son who bore his own name. He accordingly assembled 
a meeting of the electors at Prague, and by the free use of 
bribes and diplomatic intrigue, obtained their engagement to 



302 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

support his son. He accomplished his purpose, and Ferdinand, 
quite to the astonishment of Germany, was chosen unanimous- 
ly, King of the Romans — the title assumed by the emperor 
elect. In June, 1653, the young prince was crowned at Ratis- 
bon. The joy of his father, however, was of short duration. 
In one year from that time the small-pox, in its most loathsome 
form, seized the prince, and after a few days of anguish he died. 
His father was almost inconsolable with grief. As soon as he 
had partially recovered from the blow, he brought forward his 
second son, Leopold, and with but little difficulty secured for 
him the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia, but was disappointed 
in his attempts to secure the suffrages of the German electors. 

With energy, moderation and sagacity, the peacefully dis- 
posed Ferdinand so administered the government as to allay 
for seven years all the menaces of war which were continually 
arising. For so long a period had Germany been devastated 
by this most direful of earthly calamities, which is indeed the 
accumulation of all conceivable woes, ever leading in its train 
pestilence and famine, that peace seemed to the people a heav- 
enly boon. The fields were again cultivated, the cities and 
villages repaired, and comfort began again gradually to make 
its appearance in homes long desolate. It is one of the deep- 
est mysteries of the divine government that the destinies of 
millions should be so entirely placed in the hands of a single 
man. Had Ferdinand II. been an enlightened, good man, 
millions would have been saved from life-long ruin and misery. 

One pert young king, in the search of glory, kindled again 
the lurid flames of war. Christina, Queen of Sweden, daugh- 
ter of Gustavus Adolphus, influenced by romantic dreams, ab- 
dicated the throne and retired to the seclusion of the cloister 
Her cousin, Charles Gustavus, succeeded her. He thought it 
a fine thing to play the soldier, and to win renown by consign- 
ing the homes of thousands to blood and misery. He was a 
king, and the power was in his hands. Merely to gratify thi3 
fiend-like ambition, he laid claim to the crown of Poland, and 



FERDINAND III. 303 

raised an army for the invasion of that kingdom. A portion 
of Poland was then n a state of insurrection, the Ukraine 
Cossacks having risen against John Cassimar, the king. Charles 
Gustavus thought that this presented him an opportunity to 
obtain celebrity as a warrior, with but little danger of failure. 
He marched into the doomed country, leaving behind him a 
wake of fire and blood. Cities and villages were burned ; the 
soil was drenched with the blood of fathers and sons, his bugle 
blasts were echoed by the agonizing groans of widows and or- 
phans, until at last, in an awful battle of three days, under the 
walls of Warsaw, the Polish army, struggling in self-defense, 
was cut to pieces, and Charles Gustavus was crowned a con- 
queror. Elated by this infernal deed, the most infernal which 
mortal man can commit, he began to look around to decide 
in what direction to extend his conquests. 

Ferdinand III., anxious as he was to preserve peace, could 
not but look with alarm upon the movements which now 
threatened the States of the empire. It was necessary to pre- 
sent a barrier to the inroads of such a ruffian. He according- 
ly assembled a diet at Frankfort and demanded succors to op- 
pose the threatened invasion on the north. He raised an army, 
entered into an alliance with the defeated and prostrate, yet 
still struggling Poles, and was just commencing his march, 
when he was seized with sudden illness and died, on the 3d of 
March, 1657. Ferdinand was a good man. He was not re- 
sponsible for the wars which desolated the empire during the 
first years of his reign, for he was doing every thing in his 
power to bring those wars to a close. His administration was 
a blessing to millions. Just before his death he said, and with 
truth which no one will controvert, "During my whole reign 
no one can reproach me with a single act which I knew to be 
unjust." Happy is the monarch who can go into the presence 
of the King of kings with such a conscience. 

The death of the emperor was caused by a singular acci- 
dent. He was not very well, and was lying upon a couch in 



S04 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

one of the chambers of his palace. He had an infant son, but 
a few weeks old, lying in a cradle in the nursery. A fire broke 
out in the apartment of the young prince. The whole palace 
was instantly in clamor and confusion. Some attendants seized 
the cradle of the young prince, and rushed with it to the cham- 
ber of the ernperor. In their haste and terror they struck the 
cradle with such violence against the wall that it was broken 
to pieces and the child fell, screaming, upon the floor. The cry 
of fire, the tumult, the bursting into the room, the dashing of 
the cradle and the shrieks of the child, so shocked the debili- 
tated king that he died within an hour. 

Leopold was but eighteen years of age when he succeeded 
to the sovereignty of all the Austrian dominions, including the 
crowns of Hungary and Bohemia. It was the first great ob- 
ject of his ambition to secure the imperial throne also, which 
his father had failed to obtain for him. Louis XIV. was now 
the youthful sovereign of France. He, through his ambitious 
and able minister, Mazarin, did every thing in his power to 
thwart the endeavors of Ferdinand, and to obtain the brilliant 
prize for himself. The King of Sweden united with the French 
court in the endeavor to abase the pride of the house of Aus- 
tria. But notwithstanding all their efforts, Leopold carried 
his point, and was unanimously elected emperor, and crowned 
on the 31st of July, 1657. The princes of the empire, how- 
ever, greatly strengthened in their independence by the arti- 
cles of the peace of Westphalia, increasingly jealous of their 
rights, attached forty-five conditions to their acceptance of 
Leopold as emperor. Thus, notwithstanding the imperial title, 
Leopold had as little power over the States of the empire as 
the President of the United States has over the internal con- 
cerns of Maine or Louisiana. In all such cases there is ever a 
conflict between two parties, the one seeking the centralization 
of power, and the other advocating its dispersion into various 
distant central points. 

The flames of war which Charles Gustavus had kindled 



LEOPOLD I. 305 

were still blazing. Leopold continued the alliance which his 
father had formed with the Poles, and sent an army of sixteen 
thousand men into Poland, hoping to cut off the retreat of 
Charles Gustavus, and take him and all his army prisoners 
But the Swedish monarch was as sagacious and energetic as 
he was unscrupulous and ambitious. Both parties formed al- 
liances. State after State was drawn into the conflict. The 
flame spread like a conflagration. Fleets met in deadly con- 
flict on the Baltic, and crimsoned its waves with blood. The 
thunders of war were soon again echoing over all the plains 
of northern and western Germany — and all this because a 
proud, unprincipled young man, who chanced to be a king, 
wished to be called a hero. 

He accomplished his object. Through burning homes and 
bleeding hearts and crushed hopes he marched to his renown. 
The forces of the empire were allied with Denmark and Po- 
land against him. With skill and energy which can hardly 
find a parallel in the tales of romance, he baffled all the com- 
binations of his foes. Energy is a noble quality, and we may 
admire its exhibition even though we detest the cause which 
has called it forth. The Swedish fleet had been sunk by the 
Danes, and Charles Gustavus was driven from the waters of 
the Baltic. With a few transports he secretly conveyed an 
army across the Cattegat to the northern coast of Jutland, 
marched rapidly down those inhospitable shores until he came 
to the narrow strait, called the Little Belt, which separates 
Jutland from the large island of Fyen. He crossed this strait 
on the ice, dispersed a corps of Danes posted to arrest him, 
traversed the island, exposed to all the storms of mid-winter, 
some sixty miles to its eastern shore. A series of islands, with 
intervening straits clogged with ice, bridged by a long and 
circuitous way his passage across the Great Belt. A march 
of ten miles across the hummocks, rising and falling with the 
tides, landed him upon the almost pathless snows of Lange- 
land. Crossing that dreary waste diagonally some dozen miles 



306 THB HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

to another arm of the sea ten miles wide, which the ices of a 
winter of almost unprecedented severity had also bridged, 
pushing boldly on, with a recklessness which nothing but suc- 
cess redeems from stupendous infatuation, he crossed this fra- 
gile surface, which any storm might crumble beneath his feet, 
and landed upon the western coast of Laaland. A march of 
thirty-five miles over a treeless, shelterless and almost unin- 
habited expanse, brought him to the eastern shore. Easily 
crossing a narrow strait about a mile in width, he plunged into 
the forests of the island of Falster. A dreary march of twenty- 
seven miles conducted him to the last remaining arm of the 
sea which separated him from Zealand. This strait, from 
twelve to fifteen miles in breadth, was also closed by ice. 
Charles Gustavus led his hardy soldiers across it, and then, 
with accelerated steps, pressed on some sixty miles to Copen- 
hagen, the capital of Denmark. In sixteen days after landing 
in Jutland, his troops were encamped in Zealand before the 
gates of the capital. 

The King of Denmark was appalled at such a sudden ap- 
parition. His allies were too remote to render him any as- 
sistance. Never dreaming of such an attack, his capital was 
quite defenseless in that quarter. Overwhelmed with terror 
and despondency, he was compelled to submit to such terms 
as the conqueror might dictate. The conqueror was inexor- 
able in his demands. Sweden was aggrandized, and Denmark 
humiliated. 

Leopold was greatly chagrined by this sudden prostration 
of his faithful ally. In the midst of these scenes of ambition 
and of conquest, the " king of terrors" came with his summons 
to Charles Gustavus. The passage of this blood-stained war- 
rior to the world of spirits reminds us of the sublime vision 
of Isaiah when the King of Babylon sank into the grave: 

" Hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee at thy 
coming ; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief 
ones of the earth ; it hath raised up from their thrones all 



LEOPOLD I. 307 

the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say nnto 
thee, 

" * Art thou also become weak as we ? Art thou become 
like unto us ? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and 
the noise of thy viols ; the worm is spread under thee, and the 
worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lu- 
cifer, son of the morning ! How art thou cut down to the 
ground which didst weaken the nations !' 

" They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee and 
consider thee, saying, c Is this the man that made the earth to 
tremble, and didst shake kingdoms ; that made the world as 
a wilderness and destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not 
the house of his prisoners ?' " 

The death of Charles Gustavus was the signal for the strife 
of war to cease, and the belligerent nations soon came to terms 
of accommodation. But scarcely was peace proclaimed ere 
new troubles arose in Hungary. The barbarian Turks, with 
their head-quarters at Constantinople, lived in a state of con- 
tinual anarchy. The cimeter was their only law. The palace 
of the sultan was the scene of incessant assassinations. Noth- 
ing ever prevented them from assailing their neighbors but 
incessant quarrels among themselves. The life of the Turkish 
empire was composed of bloody insurrections at home, and 
still more bloody wars abroad. Mahomet IV. was now sultan. 
He was but twenty years of age. A quarrel for ascendency 
among the beauties of his harem had involved the empire in 
a civil war. The sultan, after a long conflict, crushed the in- 
surrection with a blood-red hand. Having restored internal 
tranquillity, he prepared as usual for foreign war. By intrigue 
and the force of arms they took possession of most of the 
fortresses of Transylvania, and crossing the frontier, entered 
Hungary, and laid siege to Great Wardein. 

Leopold immediately dispatched ten thousand men to suc- 
cor the besieged town and to garrison other important for- 
tresses. His succors arrived too late. Great Wardein fell 



308 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

into the hands of the Turks, and they commenced their mer- 
ciless ravages. Hungary was in a wretched condition. The 
king, residing in Vienna, was merely a nominal sovereign. 
Chosen by nobles proud of their independence, and jealous 
of each other and of their feudal rights, they were unwilling 
to delegate to the sovereign any efficient power. They would 
crown him with great splendor of gold and jewelry, and 
crowd his court in their magnificent display, but they would 
not grant him the prerogative to make war or peace, to levy 
taxes, or to exercise any other of the peculiar attributes of 
sovereignty. The king, with all his sounding titles and gor- 
geous parade, was in reality but the chairman of a committee 
of nobles. The real power was with the Hungarian diet. 

This diet, or congress, was a peculiar body. Originally it 
consisted of the whole body of nobles, who assembled annu- 
ally on horseback on the vast plain of Rakoz, near Buda. 
Eighty thousand nobles, many of them with powerful revenues, 
were frequently convened at these tumultuous gatherings. 
The people were thought to have no rights which a noble was 
bound to respect. They lived in hovels, hardly superior to 
those which a humane farmer now prepares for his swine. 
The only function they fulfilled was, by a life of exhausting toil 
and suffering, to raise the funds which the nobles expended in 
their wars and their pleasure ; and to march to the field of blood 
when summoned by the bugle. In fact history has hardly 
condescended to allude to the people. We have minutely de- 
tailed the intrigues and the conflicts of kings and nobles, when 
generation after generation of the masses of the people have 
passed away, as little thought of as billows upon the beach. 

These immense gatherings of the nobles were found to be 
so unwieldy, and so inconvenient for the transaction of any 
efficient business, that Sigismond, at the commencement of the 
fifteenth century, introduced a limited kind of representation. 
The bishops, who stood first in wealth, power and rank, and 
the highest dukes, attended in person. The nobles of less 



LEOPOLD I. 309 

exalted rank sent their delegates, and the assembly, much 
diminished in number, was transferred from the open plain to 
the city of Presburg. The diet, at the time of which we write, 
was assembled once in three years, and at such other times as 
the sovereign thought it necessary to convene it. The diet 
controlled the king, unless he chanced to be a man of such 
commanding character, that by moral power he could bring 
the diet to his feet. A clause had been inserted in the coro- 
nation oath, that the nobles, without guilt, could oppose the 
authority of the king, whenever he transgressed their privi- 
leges ; it was also declared that no foreign troops could be 
introduced into the kingdom without the consent of the 
diet. 

Under such a government, it was inevitable that the king 
should be involved in a continued conflict with the nobles. 
The nobles wished for aid to repel the Turks ; and yet they 
were unwilling that an Austrian army should be introduced 
into Hungary, lest it should enable the king to enlarge those 
prerogatives which he was ever seeking to extend, and which 
they were ever endeavoring to curtail. 

Leopold convened the diet at Presburg. They had a 
stormy session. Leopold had commenced some persecution 
of the Protestants in the States of Austria. This excited the 
alarm of the Protestant nobles of Hungary ; and they had 
reason to dread the intolerance of the Roman Catholics, more 
than the cimeter of the Turk. They openly accused Leopold 
of commencing persecution, and declared that it was his in- 
tention to reduce Hungary to the state to which Ferdinand II. 
had reduced Bohemia. They met all the suggestions of 
Leopold, for decisive action, with so many provisos and pre- 
cautions, that nothing could be done. It is dangerous to sur- 
render one's arms to a highway robber, or one whom we fear 
may prove such, even if he does promise with them to aid in 
repelling a foe. The Catholics and the Protestants became 
involved in ahercation, and the diet was abruptly dissolved. 



310 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

The Turks eagerly watched their movements, and, en- 
couraged by these dissensions, soon burst into Hungary with 
an army of one hundred thousand men. They crossed the 
Drave at Esseg, and, ascending the valley of the Danube, 
directly north one hundred and fifty miles, crossed that stream 
unopposed at Buda. Still ascending the stream, which here 
flows from the west, they spread devastation everywhere 
around them, until they arrived nearly within sight of the 
steeples of Vienna. The capital was in consternation. To 
add to their terror and their peril, the emperor was danger- 
ously sick of the small-pox, a disease which had so often 
proved fatal to members of the royal family. One of the im- 
perial generals, near Presburg, in a strong position, held the 
invading army in check a few days. The ministry, in their 
consternation, appealed to all the powers of Christendom to 
hasten to the rescue of the cross, now so seriously imperiled 
by the crescent. Forces flowed in, which for a time arrested 
the further advance of the Moslem banners, and afforded time 
to prepare for more efficient action. 



CHAPTER XX. 

LEOPOLD I. 
From 1662 to 1697. 

Invasion op the Turks.— A Teeatt concluded.— Possessions of Leopold. — Inva- 
sion op tub French. — League op Augsburg. — Devastation op the Palati- 
nate. — Invasion op Hungary. — Emeric Tekeli. — Union of Emerio Tekeli 
with the Turks. — Leopold applies to Sobieski. — He immediately marches to 
his Aid. — The Turks conquered.— Sobieski's triumphal Eeceptions. — Mean- 
ness of Leopold. — Eevenge upon Hungary. — Peace concluded. — Contest for 
Spain. 

WHILE Europe was rousing itself to repel this invasion of 
the Turks, the grand vizier, leaving garrisons in the 
strong fortresses of the Danube, withdrew the remainder of 
his army to prepare for a still more formidable invasion the 
ensuing year. Most of the European powers seemed disposed 
to render the emperor some aid. The pope transmitted to 
him about two hundred thousand dollars. France sent a de- 
tachment of six thousand men. Spain, Venice, Genoa, Tus- 
cany and Mantua, forwarded important contributions of money 
and military stores. Early in the summer the Turks, in a pow- 
erful and well provided army, commenced their march anew. 
Ascending the valley of the Save, where they encountered no 
opposition, they traversed Styria, that they might penetrate 
to the seat of war through a defenseless frontier. The troops 
assembled by Leopold, sixty thousand in number, under the 
renowned Prince Montecuculi, stationed themselves in a very 
strong position at St. Gothard, behind the river Raab, which 
flows into the Danube about one hundred miles below Vienna. 
Here they threw up their intrenchments and prepared to re- 
sist the progress of the invader. 



312 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

The Turks soon arrived and spread themselves out in mili- 
tary array upon the opposite side of the narrow but rapid 
stream. As the hostile armies were preparing for an engage- 
ment, a young Turk, magnificently mounted, and in gorgeous 
uniform, having crossed the stream with a party of cavalry, 
rode in advance of the troop, upon the p^ain, and in the spirit 
of ancient chivalry challenged any Christian knight to meet 
him in single combat. The Chevalier of Lorraine accepted 
the challenge, and rode forth to the encounter. Both armies 
looked silently on to witness the issue of the duel. It was of 
but a few moments' duration. Lorraine, warding oif every 
blow of his antagonist, soon passed his sword through the 
body of the Turk, and he fell dead from his horse. The victor 
returned to the Christian canrp, leading in triumph the splendid 
steed of his antagonist. 

And now the signal was given for the general battle. The 
Turks impetuously crossing the narrow stream, assailed the 
Christian camp in all directions, with their characteristic physi- 
cal bravery, the most common, cheap and vulgar of aL' earth- 
ly virtues. A few months of military discipline will make 
fearless soldiers of the most ignominious wretches who can be 
raked from the gutters of Christian or heathen lands. The 
battle was waged with intense fierceness on both sides, and 
was long continued with varying success. At last the Turks 
were routed on every portion of the field, and leaving nearly 
twenty thousand of their number either dead upon the plain 
or drowned in the Kaab, they commenced a precipitate flight. 

Leopold was, for many reasons, very anxious for peace, and 
immediately proposed terms very favorable to the Turks. The 
sultan was so disheartened by this signal reverse that he readily 
listened to the propositions of the emperor, and within nine 
days after the battle of St. Gothard, to the astonishment of all 
Europe, a truce was concluded for twenty years. The Hunga- 
rians were much displeased with the terms of this treaty ; for 
in the first place, it was contrary to the laws of the kingdom 



LEOPOLD I. 313 

for the king to make peace without the consent of the diet, 
and in the second place, the conditions he offered the Turks 
were humiliating to the Hungarians. Leopold confirmed to 
the Turks their ascendency in Transylvania, and allowed them 
to retain Great Wardein, and two other important fortresses 
in Hungary. It was with no little difficulty that the emperor 
persuaded the diet to ratify these terms. 

Leopold is to be considered under the twofold light of sov- 
ereign of Austria and Emperor of Germany. We have seen 
that his power as emperor was quite limited. His power as 
sovereign of Austria, also varied greatly in the different States 
of his widely extended realms. In the Austrian duchies prop- 
er, upon the Danube, of which he was, by long hereditary de- 
scent, archduke, his sway was almost omnipotent. In Bohe- 
mia he was powerful, though much less so than in Austria, and 
it was necessary for him to move with caution there, and not 
to disturb the ancient usages of the realm lest he should excite 
insurrection. In Hungary, where the laws and customs were 
entirely different, Leopold held merely a nominal, hardly a 
recognized sway. The bold Hungarian barons, always steel- 
clad and mounted for war, in their tumultuous diets, governed 
the kingdom. There were other remote duchies and princi- 
palities, too feeble to stand by themselves, and ever changing 
masters, as they were conquered or sought the protection of 
other powers, which, under the reign of Leopold, were por- 
tions of wide extended Austria. Another large and vastly 
important accession was now made to his realms. The Tyrol, 
which, in its natural features, may be considered but an exten- 
sion of Switzerland, is a territory of about one hundred miles 
square, traversed through its whole extent by the Alps. Ly- 
ing just south of Austria it is the key to Italy, opening through 
its defiles a passage to the sunny plains of the Peninsula ; and 
through those fastnesses, guarded by frowning castles, no foe 
could force his way, into the valleys of the Tyrol. The most 
sublime road in Europe is that over Mount Brenner, along the 

14 



314 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA 

banks of the Adige. This province had long been in the hands 
of members of the Austrian family. 

On the 15th of June, 1665, Sigismond Francis, Duke of 
Tyrol, and cousin of Leopold, died, leaving no issue, and the 
province escheated with its million of inhabitants to Leopold, 
as the next heir. This brought a large accession of revenue 
and of military force, to the kingdom. Austria was now the 
leading power in Europe, and Leopold, in rank and position, 
the most illustrious sovereign. Louis XIV. had recently mar- 
ried Maria Theresa, eldest daughter of Philip IV., King of 
Spain. Philip, who was anxious to retain the crown of Spain 
in his own family, extorted from Maria Theresa, and from her 
husband, Louis XIV., the renunciation of all right of succes- 
sion, in favor of his second daughter, Margaret, whom he be- 
trothed to Leopold. Philip died in September, 1665, leaving 
these two daughters, one of whom was married to the King of 
Prance, and leaving also an infant son, who succeeded to the 
throne under the regency of his mother, Ann, daughter of Fer- 
dinand III., of Austria. Margaret was then too young to be 
married, but in a year from this time, in September, 1666, her 
nuptials were celebrated with great splendor at Madrid. The 
ambitious French monarch, taking advantage of the minority 
of the King of Spain, and of the feeble regency, and in defi- 
ance of the solemn renunciation made at his marriage, resolved 
to annex the Spanish provinces of the Low Countries to France, 
and invaded the kingdom, leading himself an army of thirty 
thousand men. The Spanish court immediately appealed to 
Leopold for assistance. But Leopold was so embarrassed by 
troubles in Hungary, and by discontents in the empire that he 
could render no efficient aid. England, however, and other 
powers of Europe, jealous of the aggrandizement of Louis 
XIV. combined, and compelled him to abandon a large por- 
tion of the Netherlands, though he still retained several for 
tresses. The ambition of Louis XIV. was inflamed, not checked 
by this reverse, and all Europe was involved again in bloody 



LEOPOLD I. 315 

wars. The aggressions of France, and the devastations of 
Turehne in the Palatinate, roused Germany to listen to the 
appeals of Leopold, and the empire declared war against 
France. Months of desolating war rolled on, decisive of no 
results, except universal misery. The fierce conflict continued 
with unintermitted fury until 1679, when the haughty mon- 
arch of France, who was as sagacious in diplomacy as he was 
able in war, by bribes and threats succeeded in detaching one 
after another from the coalition against him, until Leopold, de- 
serted by nearly all his allies, was also compelled to accede to 
peace. 

France, under Louis XIV., was now the dominant power 
in Europe. Every court seemed to be agitated by the in- 
trigues of this haughty sovereign, and one becomes weary of 
describing the incessant fluctuations of the warfare. The ar- 
rogance of Louis, his unblushing perfidy and his insulting as- 
sumptions of superiority over all other powers, exasperated 
the emperor to the highest pitch. But the French monarch, 
by secret missions and abounding bribes, kept Hungary in 
continued commotion, and excited such jealousy in the difler- 
ent States of the empire, that Leopold was compelled to sub- 
mit in silent indignation to wrongs almost too grievous for 
human nature to bear. 

At length Leopold succeeded in organizing another coali- 
tion to resist the aggressions of Louis XIV. The Prince of 
Orange, the King of Sweden and the Elector of Brandenburg 
were the principal parties united with the emperor in this con- 
federacy, which was concluded, under the name of the "League 
of Augsburg," on the 21st of June, 1686. An army of sixty 
thousand men was immediately raised. From all parts of 
Germany troops were now hurrying towards the Rhine. Louis, 
alarmed, retired from the Palatinate, which he had overrun, 
and, to place a barrier between himself and his foes, ordered 
the utter devastation of the unhappy country. The diabolical 
order was executed by Turenne. The whole of the Palatinate 



316 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

was surrendered to pillage and conflagration. The elector 
from the towers of his castle at Mannheim, saw at one time 
two cities and twenty-five villages in flames. He had no force 
sufficient to warrant him to leave the walls of his fortress to 
oppose the foe. He was, however, so moved to despair by the 
sight, that he sent a challenge to Turenne to meet him in sin- 
gle combat. Turenne, by command of the king, declined ac- 
cepting the challenge. More than forty large towns, besides 
innumerable villages, were given up to the flames. It was 
mid-winter. The fields were covered with snow, and swept 
by freezing blasts. The wretched inhabitants, parents and 
children, driven into the bleak plains without food or clothing 
or shelter, perished miserably by thousands. The devastation 
of the Palatinate is one of the most cruel deeds which war has 
ever perpetrated. For these woes, which no imagination can 
guage, Louis XIV. is responsible. He has escaped any ade- 
quate earthly penalty for the crime, but the instinctive sense 
of justice implanted in every breast, demands that he should 
not escape the retributions of a righteous God. " After death 
cometh the judgment." 

This horrible deed roused Germany. All Europe now 
combined against France, except Portugal, Russia and a few 
of the Italian States. The tide now turned in favor of the 
house of Austria. Germany was so alarmed by the arrogance 
of France, that, to strengthen the power of the emperor, the 
diet with almost perfect unanimity elected his son Joseph, 
though a lad but eleven years of age, to succeed to the imperial 
throne. Indeed, Leopold presented his son in a manner which 
seemed to claim the crown for him as his hereditary right, and 
the diet did not resist that claim. France, rich and powerful, 
with marvelous energy breasted her host of foes. All Europe 
was in a blaze. The war raged on the ocean, over the marshes 
of Holland, along the banks of the Rhine, upon the plains of 
Italy, through the defiles of the Alps and far away on the 
steppes of Hungary and the shores of the Euxine. To all these 



LEOPOLD I. ' 317 

points the empeior was compelled to send his troops. Year 
after year of carnage and woe rolled on, during which hardly 
a happy family could be found in all Europe. 

" Man's inhumanity to man 
Made countless millions mourn." 

At last all parties became weary of the war, and none of the 
powers having gained any thing of any importance by these 
long years of crime and misery, for which Louis XIV., as the 
aggressor, is mainly responsible, peace was signed on the 30th 
of October, 1697. One important thing, indeed, had been ac- 
complished. The rapacious Louis XIV. had been checked in 
his career of spoliation. But his insatiate ambition was by no 
means subdued. He desired peace only that he might more 
successfully prosecute his plans of aggrandizement. He soon, 
by his system of robbery, involved Europe again in war. Per- 
haps no man has ever lived who has caused more bloody 
deaths and more wide-spread destruction of human happiness 
than Louis XIV. We wonder not that in the French Revolu- 
tion an exasperated people should have rifled his sepulcher 
and spurned his skull over the pavements as a foot-ball. 

Leopold, during the progress of these wars, by the aid of 
the armies which the empire furnished him, recovered all of 
Hungary and Transylvania, driving the Turks beyond the 
Danube. But the proud Hungarian nobles were about as much 
opposed to the rule of the Austrian king as to that of the 
Turkish sultan. The Protestants gained but little by the 
change, for the Mohammedan was about as tolerant as the pa- 
pist. They all suspected Leopold of the design of establish 
ing over them despotic power, and they formed a secret con- 
federacy for their own protection. Leopold, released from his 
warfare against France and the Turks, was now anxious to 
consolidate his power in Hungary, and justly regarding the 
ftoman Catholic religion as the great bulwark against liberty, 
encouraged the Catholics to persecute the Protestants. 



318 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

Leopold took advantage of this conspiracy to march an 
army into Hungary, and attacking the discontented nobles, 
who had raised an army, he crushed them with terrible se- 
verity. No mercy was shown. He exhausted the energies of 
confiscation, exile and the scaffold upon his foes ; and then, 
having intimidated all so that no one dared to murmur, de- 
clared the monarchy of Hungary no longer elective but hered- 
itary, like that of Bohemia. He even had the assurance to 
summon a diet of the nobles to confirm this decree which de- 
frauded them of their time-honored rights. The nobles who 
were summoned, terrified, instead of obeying, fled into Tran- 
sylvania. The despot then issued an insulting and menacing 
proclamation, declaring that the power he exercised he re- 
ceived from God, and calling upon all to manifest implicit 
submission under peril of his vengeance. He then extorted a 
large contribution of money from the kingdom, and quartered 
upon the inhabitants thirty thousand troops to awe them into 
subjection. 

This proclamation was immediately followed by another, 
changing the whole form of government of the kingdom, and 
establishing an unlimited despotism. He then moved vigor- 
ously for the extirpation of the Protestant religion. The 
Protestant pastors were silenced ; courts were instituted for 
the suppression of heresy ; two hundred and fifty Protestant 
ministers were sentenced to be burned at the stake, and then, 
as an act of extraordinary clemency, on the part of the des- 
pot, their punishment was commuted to hard labor in the 
galleys for life. All the nameless horrors of inquisitorial 
cruelty desolated the land. 

Catholics and Protestants were alike driven to despair by 
these civil and religious outrages. They combined, and were 
aided both by France and Turkey ; not that France and Tur- 
key loved justice and humanity, but they hated the house of 
Austria, and wished to weaken its power, that they might 
enrich themselves by the spoils. A noble chief, Emeric Te- 



LEOPOLD I. 319 

keli, who had fled from Hungary to Poland, and who hated 
Austria as Hannibal hated Rome, was in zested with the com- 
mand of the Hungarian patriots. Victory followed his stand- 
ard, until the emperor, threatened with entire expulsion from 
the kingdom, offered to reestablish the ancient laws which he 
had abrogated, and to restore to the Hungarians all those 
civil and religious privileges of which he had so ruthlessly 
defrauded them. 

But the Hungarians were no longer to be deceived by his 
perfidious promises. They continued the war ; and the sultan 
sent an army of two hundred thousand men to cooperate with 
Tekeli. The emperor, unable to meet so formidable an army, 
abandoned his garrisons, and, retiring from the distant parts 
of the kingdom, concentrated his troops at Presburg. But 
with all his efforts, he was able to raise an army of only forty 
thousand men. The Duke of Lorraine, who was intrusted 
w T ith the command of the imperial troops, was compelled to 
retreat precipitately before outnumbering foes, and he fled 
upon the Danube, pursued by the combined Hungarians and 
Turks, until he found refuge within the walls of Vienna. The 
city was quite unprepared for resistance, its fortifications being 
dilapidated, and its garrison feeble. Universal consternation 
seized the inhabitants. All along the valley of the Danube 
the population fled in terror before the advance of the Turks. 
Leopold, with his family, at midnight, departed ingloriously 
from the city, to seek a distant refuge. The citizens followed 
the example of their sovereign, and all the roads leading west- 
ward and northward from the city were crowded with fugi- 
tives, in carriages, on horseback and on foot, and with all 
kinds of vehicles laden with the treasures of the metropolis. 
The churches were filled with the sick and the aged, patheti- 
cally imploring the protection of Heaven. 

The Duke of Lorraine conducted with great energy, re- 
pairing the dilapidated fortifications, stationing in posts of 
peril the veteran troops, and marshaling the citizens and the 



320 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

students to cooperate with the garrison. On the 14th of July, 
1682, the banners of the advance guard of the Turkish array- 
were seen from the walls of Vienna. Soon the whole mighty 
host, like an inundation, came surging on, and, surrounding 
the city, invested it on all sides. The terrific assault from in- 
numerable batteries immediately commenced. The besieged 
were soon reduced to the last extremity for want of provisions, 
and famine and pestilence rioting within the walls, destroyed 
more than the shot of the enemy. The suburbs were de- 
stroyed, the principal outworks taken, several breaches were 
battered in the walls, and the terrified inhabitants were hourly 
in expectation that the* city would be taken by storm. There 
can not be, this side of the world of woe, any thing more ter- 
rible than such an event. 

The emperor, in his terror, had dispatched envoys all over 
Germany to rally troops for the defense of Vienna and the 
empire. He himself had hastened to Poland, where, with 
frantic intreaties, he pressed the king, the renowned John 
Sobieski, whose very name was a terror, to rush to his relief. 
Sobieski left orders for a powerful army immediately to com- 
mence their march. But, without waiting for their compar- 
atively slow movements, he placed himself at the head of three 
thousand Polish horsemen, and, without incumbering himself 
with luggage, like the sweep of the whirlwind traversed Si- 
lesia and Moravia, and reached Tulen, on the banks of the 
Danube, about twenty miles above Vienna. He had been 
told by the emperor that here he would find an army await- 
ing him, and a bridge constructed, by which he could cross 
the stream. But, to his bitter disappointment, he found no 
aimy, and the bridge unfinished. Indignantly he exclaimed, 

"What does the emperor mean? Does he think me a 
mere adventurer ? I left my own army that I might take 
command of his. It is not for myself that I fight, but for 
him." 

Notwithstanding this disappointment, he called into re- 



LEOPOLD I. 32j 

quisitioi. all his energies to meet the crisis. The bridge was 
pushed forward to its completion. The loitering German 
troops were hurried on to the rendezvous. After a few days 
the Polish troops, by forced marches, arrived, and Sobieski 
found himself at the head of sixty thousand men, experienced 
soldiers, and well supplied with all the munitions of war. On 
the 11th of September the inhabitants of the city were over- 
joyed, in descrying from the towers of the city, in the dis- 
tance, the approaching banners of the Polish and German 
army. Sobieski ascended an elevation, and long and carefully 
scrutinized the position of the besieging host. He then 
calmly remarked, 

" The grand vizier has selected a bad position. I under- 
stand him. He is ignorant of the arts of war, and yet thinks 
that he has military genius. It will be so easy to conquer 
him, that we shall obtain no honor from the victory." 

Early the next morning, the 12th of September, the Polish 
and German troops rushed to the assault, with such amazing 
impetuosity, and guided by such military skill, that the Turks 
were swept before them as by a torrent. The army of the 
grand vizier, seized by a panic, fled so precipitately, that they 
left baggage, tents, ammunition and provisions behind. The 
garrison emerged from the city, and cooperated with the 
victors, and booty of indescribable value fell into their hands. 
As Sobieski took possession of the abandoned camp, stored 
with all the wealth and luxuries of the East, he wrote, in a 
tone of pleasantry to his wife, 

" The grand vizier has left me his heir, and I inherit mil- 
lions of ducats. When I return home I shall not be met with 
the reproach of the Tartar wives, ' You are not a man, be- 
cause you have come back without booty.' " 

The inhabitants of Vienna flocked out from the city to 
greet the king as an angel deliverer sent from heaven. The next 
morning the gates of the city were thrown open, the streets 
were garlanded with flowers, and the King of Poland had a 

14* 



322 THE HOUSE OP AUSTEIA. 

triumphal reception in the streets of the metropolis. The 
enthusiasm and gratitude of the people passed all ordinary- 
bounds. The bells rang their merriest peals ; files of maid- 
ens lined his path, and acclamations, bursting from the heart* 
greeted him every step of his way. They called him their 
father and deliverer. They struggled to kiss his feet and even 
to touch his garments. With difficulty he pressed through the 
grateful crowd to the cathedral, where he prostrated himself 
before the altar, and returned thanks to God for the signal vic- 
tory. As he returned, after a public dinner, to his camp, he 
said, " This is the happiest day of my life." 

Two days after this, Leopold returned, trembling and hu- 
miliated to his capital. He was received in silence, and with 
undisguised contempt. His mortification was intense, and he 
could not endure to hear the praises which were everywhere 
lavished upon Sobieski. Jealousy rankled in his heart, and 
he vented his spite upon all around him. It was necessary 
that he should have an interview with the heroic king who had 
so nobly come to his rescue. But instead of meeting him with 
a warm and grateful heart, he began to study the punctilios of 
etiquette, that the dreaded interview might be rendered as 
cold and formal as possible. 

Sobieski was merely an elective monarch. Leopold was a 
hereditary king and an emperor. Leopold even expressed 
some doubt whether it were consistent with his exalted digni- 
ty to grant the Polish king the honor of an audience. He in- 
quired whether an elected monarch had ever been admitted to 
the presence of an emperor; and if so, with what forms,*" in 
the present case, the king should be received. The Duke 
of Lorraine, of whom he made the inquiry, disgusted with 
the mean spirit of the emperor, nobly replied, " With open 
arms." 

But the soulless Leopold had every movement punctili- 
ously arranged according to the dictates of his ignoble spirit. 
The Polish and Austrian armies were drawn up in opposite 



LEOPOLD I. 323 

lines upon the plain before the city. At a concerted signal the 
emperor and the king emerged from their respective ranks, 
and rode out upon the open plain to meet each other. Sobi- 
eski, a man of splendid bearing, magnificently mounted, and 
dressed in the brilliant uniform of a Polish warrior, attracted 
all eyes and the admiration of all hearts. His war steed 
'pranced proudly as if conscious of the royal burden he bore, 
and of the victories he had achieved. Leopold was an ungain- 
ly man at the best. Conscious of his inability to vie with the 
hero, in his personal presence, he affected the utmost simpli- 
city of dress and equipage. Humiliated also by the cold recep- 
sion he had met and by the consciousness of extreme unpopu- 
larity in both armies, he was embarrassed and dejected. The 
contrast was very striking, adding to the renown of Sobieski, 
and sinking Leopold still deeper in contempt. 

The two sovereigns advanced, formally saluted each other 
with bows, dismounted and embraced. A few cold words were 
exchanged, when they again embraced and remounted to re- 
view the troops. But Sobieski, frank, cordial, impulsive, was 
so disgusted with this reception, so different from what he had 
a right to expect, that he excused himself, and rode to his tent, 
leaving his chancellor Zaluski to accompany the emperor on 
the review. As Leopold rode along the lines he was received 
in contemptuous silence, and he returned to his palace in Vi- 
enna, tortured by wounded pride and chagrin. 

The treasure abandoned by the Turks was so abundant 
that five days were spent in gathering it up. The victorious 
army then commenced the pursuit of the retreating foe. About 
one hundred and fifty miles below Vienna, where the majestic 
Danube turns suddenly from its eastern course and flows to- 
ward the south, is situated the imperial city of Gran. Upon 
a high precipitous rock, overlooking both the town and the 
river, there had stood for centuries one of the most imposing 
fortresses which mortal hands have ever reared. For seventy 
years this post had been in the hands of the Turks, and strong- 



324 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

]y garrisoned by four thousand troops, had bid defiance to 
every assault. Here the thinned and bleeding battalions of 
the grand vizier sought refuge. Sobieski and the Duke of 
Lorraine, flushed with victory, hurled their masses upon the 
disheartened foe, and the Turks were routed with enormous 
slaughter. Seven thousand gory corpses of the dead strewed 
the plain. Many thousands were driven into the river and 
drowned. The fortress was taken, sword in hand ; and the rem- 
nant of the Moslem army, in utter discomfiture, fled down the 
Danube, hardly resting, by night or by day, till they were safe 
behind the ramparts of Belgrade. 

Both the German and the Polish troops were disgusted 
w T ith Leopold. Having reconquered Hungary for the emperor, 
they were not disposed to remain longer in his service. Most 
of the German auxiliaries, disbanding, returned to their own 
countries. Sobieski, declaring that he was willing to fight 
against the Turks, but not against Tekeli and his Christian 
confederates, led back his troops to Poland. The Duke of Lor- 
raine was now left with the Austrian troops to struggle against 
Tekeli with the Hungarian patriots. The Turks, exasperated 
by the defeat, accused Tekeli of being the cause. By stratagem 
he was seized and sent in chains to Constantinople. The chief 
who succeeded him turned traitor and joined the imperialists. 
The cause of the patriots was ruined. Victory now kept pace 
with the march of the Duke of Lorraine. The Turks were 
driven from all their fortresses, and Leopold again had Hun- 
gary at his feet. His vengeance was such as might have been 
expected from such a man. 

Far away, in the wilds of northern Hungary, at the base 
of the Carpathian, mountains, on the river Tarcza, one of the 
tributaries of the Theiss, is the strongly fortified town of 
Eperies. At this remote spot the diabolical emperor estab- 
lished his revolutionary tribunal, as if he thought that the 
shrieks of his victims, there echoing through the savage de- 
files of the mountains, could not awaken the horror of civil- 



LEOPOLD I. 325 

ized Europe. His armed bands scoured the country and trans- 
ported to Eperies every individual, man, woman and child, 
who was even suspected of sympathizing with the insurgents. 
There was hardly a man of wealth or influence in the king- 
dom who was not dragged before this horrible tribunal, com- 
posed of ignorant, brutal, sanguinary officers of the king. Their 
summary trial, without any forms of justice, was an awful trag- 
edy. They were thrown into dungeons ; their property con- 
fiscated ; they were exposed to the most direful tortures which 
human ingenuity could devise, to extort confession and to com- 
pel them to criminate friends. By scores they were daily con- 
signed to the scaffold. Thirty executioners, with their assist- 
ants, found constant employment in beheading the condemned. 
In the middle of the town, the scaffold was raised for this 
butchery. The spot is still called " The Bloody Theater of 
Eperies." 

Leopold, having thus glutted his vengeance, defiantly con- 
voked a diet and crowned his son Joseph, a boy twelve years 
of age, as King of Hungary, practically saying to the nobles, 
" Dispute his hereditary right now, if you dare." The em- 
peror had been too often instructed in the vicissitudes of war 
to feel that even in this hour of triumph he was perfectly safe. 
He knew that other days might come ; that other foes might 
rise ; and that Hungary could never forget the rights of which 
she had been defrauded. He therefore exhausted all the arts 
of threats and bribes to induce the diet to pass a decree that 
the crown was no longer elective but hereditary. It is mar- 
velous that in such an hour there could have been any energy 
left to resist his will. But with all his terrors he could only 
extort from the diet their consent that the succession to the 
crown should be confirmed in the males, but that upon the 
extinction of the male line the crown, instead of being hered- 
itary in the female line, should revert to the nation, who should 
again confer it by the right of election. 

Leopold reluctantly yielded to this, as the most he could 



326 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

then hope to accomplish. The emperor, elated by success, 
assumed such imperious airs as to repel from him all his former 
allies. For several years Hungary was but a battle-field where 
Austrians and Turks met in incessant and bloody conflicts. 
But Leopold, in possession of all the fortresses, succeeded in 
repelling each successive invasion. 

Both parties became weary of war. In November, 1697, 
negotiations were opened at Carlovitz, and a truce was con- 
cluded for twenty-five years. The Turks abandoned both 
Hungary and Transylvania, and these two important provinces 
became more firmly than ever before, integral portions of the 
Austrian empire. By the peace of Carlovitz the sultan lost 
one half of his possessions in Europe. Austria, in the grandeur 
of her territory, was never more powerful than at this hour: 
extending across the whole breadth of Europe, from the valley 
of the Rhine to the Euxine sea, and from the Carpathian 
mountains to the plains of Italy. A more heterogeneous con- 
glomeration of States never existed, consisting of kingdoms, 
archduchies, duchies, principalities, counties, margraves, land- 
graves and imperial cities, nearly all with their hereditary 
rulers subordinate to the emperor, and with their local cus- 
toms and laws. 

Leopold, though a weak and bad man, in addition to all 
this power, swayed also the imperial scepter over all the States 
of Germany. Though his empire over all was frail, and his 
vast dominions were liable at any moment to crumble to pieces, 
he still was not content with consolidating the realms he held, 
but was anxiously grasping for more. Spain was the prize now 
to be won. Louis XIV., with the concentrated energies of 
the French kingdom, was claiming it by virtue of his marriage 
with the eldest daughter of the deceased monarch, notwith- 
standing his solemn renunciation of all right at his marriage 
in favor of the second daughter. Leopold, as the husband 
of the second daughter, claimed the crown, in the event, 
then impending, of the death of the imbecile and childless 



LEOPOLD I. 327 

king. This quarrel agitated Europe to its center, and del- 
uged her fields with blood. If the elective franchise is at 
times the source of agitation, the law of hereditary succes- 
sion most certainly does not always confer tranquillity and 



CHAPTER XXI. 

LEOPOLD I. AND THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 
From 1697 to 1710. 

The Spanish Succession. — The Impotence of Charles II. — Appeal to the Pope. — His 
Decision. — Death of Charles II.— Accession of Philip V.— Indignation of Aus- 
tria. — The outbreak of War. — Charles III. crowned. — Insurrection in Hun- 
gary.— Defection of Bavaria. — The Battle of Blenheim. — Death of Leopold 
I. — Eleonora. — Accession of Joseph I. — Charles XII. of Sweden. — Charles III* 
in Spain. — Battle of Malplaquet.— Charles at Barcelona.— Charles at Ma- 
drid. 

CHARLES II., King of Spain, was one of the most impo- 
tent of men, in both body and mind. The law of hered- 
itary descent had placed this semi-idiot upon the throne of 
Spain to control the destinies of twenty millions of people. 
The same law, in the event of his death without heirs, would 
carry the crown across the Pyrenees to a little boy in the pal- 
ace of Versailles, or two thousand miles, to the banks of the 
Danube, to another little boy in the gardens of Vienna. 
Louis XIV. claimed the Spanish scepter in behalf of his wife, 
the Spanish princess Maria Theresa, and her son. Leopold 
claimed it in behalf of his deceased wife, Margaret, and her 
child. For many years before the death of Philip II. the en- 
voys of France and Austria crowded the court of Spain, em- 
ploying all the arts of intrigue and bribery to forward the in- 
terests of their several sovereigns. The different courts of 
Europe espoused the claims of the one party or the other, 
accordingly as their interests would be promoted by the ag- 
grandizement of the house of Bourbon or the house of Haps- 
burg. 

Louis XIV. prepared to strike a sudden blow by gathering 



LEOPOLD I. AND THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 329 

an army of one hundred thousand men in his fortresses near the 
Spanish frontier, in establishing immense magazines of military 
stores, and in filling the adjacent harbors with ships of war. 
The sagacious French monarch had secured the cooperation 
of the pope, and of some of the most influential Jesuits who 
surrounded the sick and dying monarch. Charles II. had long 
been harassed by the importunities of both parties that he 
should give the influence of his voice in the decision. Tor- 
tured by the incessant vacillations of his own mind, he was 
at last influenced, by the suggestions of his spiritual advisers, 
to refer the question to the pope. He accordingly sent an em- 
bassage to the pontiff with a letter soliciting counsel. 

"Having no children," he observed, "and being obliged 
to appoint an heir to the Spanish crown from a foreign family, 
we find such great obscurity in the law of succession, that we 
are unable to form a settled determination. Strict justice is 
our aim ; and, to be able to decide with that justice, we have 
offered up constant prayers to God. We are anxious to act 
rightly, and we have recourse to your holiness, as to an infal- 
lible guide, intreating you to consult with the cardinals and 
divines, and, after having attentively examined the testaments 
of our ancestors, to decide according to the rules of right and 
equity." 

Pope Innocent XII. was already prepared for this appeal, 
and was engaged to act as the agent of the French court. 
The hoary-headed pontiff, with one foot in the grave, affected 
the character of great honesty and impartiality. He required 
forty days to examine the important case, and to seek divine 
assistance. He then returned the following answer, admirably 
adapted to influence a weak and superstitious prince : 

" Being myself," he wrote, " in a situation similar to that 
of his Catholic majesty, the King of Spain, on the point of 
appearing at the judgment-seat of Christ, and rendering an 
account to the sovereign pastor of the flock which has been 
intrusted to my care, I am bound to give such advice as will 



330 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

not reproach my conscience on the day of judgment. Youi 
majesty ought not to put the interests of the house of Austria 
in competition with those of eternity. Neither should you be 
ignorant that the French claimants are the rightful heirs of 
the crown, and no member of the Austrian family has the 
smallest legitimate pretension. It is therefore your duty to 
omit no precaution, which your wisdom can suggest, to render 
justice where justice is due, and to secure, by every means in 
your power, the undivided succession of the Spanish monarchy 
to the French claimants." 

Charles, as fickle as the wind, still remained undecided, 
and his anxieties preying upon his feeble frame, already ex- 
hausted by disease, caused him rapidly to decline. He was 
now confined to his chamber and his bed, and his death was 
hourly expected. He hated the French, and all his sympathies 
were with Austria. Some priests entered his chamber, pro- 
fessedly to perform the pompous and sepulchral service of the 
church of Rome for the dying. In this hour of languor, and 
in the prospect of immediate death, they assailed the imbecile 
monarch with all the terrors of superstition. They depicted 
the responsibility which he would incur should he entail on 
the kingdom the woes of a disputed succession ; they assured 
him that he could not, without unpardonable guilt, reject the 
decision of the holy father of the Church ; and growing more 
eager and excited, they denounced upon him the vengeance of 
Almighty God, if he did not bequeath the crown, now falling 
from his brow, to the Bourbons of France. 

The dying, half-delirious king, appalled by the terrors of 
eternal damnation, yielded helplessly to their demands. A 
will was already prepared awaiting his signature. With a 
hand trembling in death, the king attached to it his name ; 
but as he did so, he burst into tears, exclaiming, " I am al- 
ready nothing." It was supposed that he could then survive 
but a few hours. Contrary to all expectation he revived, and 
expressed the keenest indignation and anguish that he had 



LEOPOLD I. AND THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 33j 

been thus beguiled to decide against Austria, and in favor ol 
France. He even sent a courier to the emperor, announcing 
his determination to decide in favor of the Austrian claimant. 
The nickering flame of life, thus revived for a moment, glim- 
mered again in the socket and expired. The wretched king 
died the 1st of November, 1699, in the fortieth year of his 
age, and the thirty-sixth of his reign. 

On the day of his death a council of State was convened, 
and the will, the very existence of which was generally un- 
known, was read. It declared the Dauphin of France, son of 
the Spanish princess Maria Theresa, to be the successor to all 
the Spanish dominions ; and required all subjects and vassals 
of Spain to acknowledge him. The Austrian party were as- 
tounded at this revelation. The French party were prepared 
to receive it without any surprise. The son of Maria Theresa 
was dead, and the crown consequently passed to her grandson 
Philip. Louis XIV. immediately acknowledged his title, when 
he was proclaimed king, and took quiet possession of the 
throne of Spain on the 24th of November, 1700, as Philip V. 

It was by such fraud that the Bourbons of France attained 
the succession to the Spanish crown ; a fraud as palpable as 
was -ever committed ; for Maria Theresa had renounced all 
her rights to the throne ; this renunciation had been con- 
firmed by the will of her father Philip IV., sanctioned by the 
Cortes of Spain, and solemnly ratified by her husband, Louis 
XIV. Such is " legitimacy — the divine right of kings." All 
the great powers of Europe, excepting the emperor, promptly 
acknowledged the title of Philip V. 

Leopold, enraged beyond measure, dispatched envoys to 
rouse the empire, and made the most formidable preparations 
for war. A force of eighty thousand men was soon as- 
sembled. The war commenced in Italy. Leopold sent down 
his German troops through the defiles of the Tyrol, and, in 
the valley of the Adige, they encountered the combined ar- 
mies of France, Spain and Italy. Prince Eugene, who had 



332 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

already acquired great renown in the wars against the Turks, 
though by birth a French noble, had long been in the Austrian 
service, and led the Austrian troops. William, of England, 
jealous of the encroachments of Louis XIV., and leading with 
him the States of Holland, formed an alliance with Austria. 
This was pretty equally dividing the military power of Europe, 
and a wai of course ensued, almost unparalleled in its san- 
guinary ferocity. The English nation supported the monarch; 
the House of Lords, in an address to the king, declared that 
"his majesty, his subjects and his allies, could never be secure 
till the house of Austria should be restored to its rights, and 
the invader of the Spanish monarchy brought to reason." 
Forty thousand sailors and forty thousand land troops were 
promptly voted for the war. 

William died on the 16th of March, in consequence of a 
fall from his horse, and was succeeded by Anne, daughter of 
James H. She was, however, but nominally the sovereign. 
The infamously renowned Duke of Marlborough became the 
real monarch, and with great skill and energy prosecuted the 
eleven years' war which ensued, which is known in history as 
the War of the Spanish Succession. For many months the 
conflict raged with the usual fluctuations, the Austrian forces 
being commanded on the Rhine by the Duke of Marlborough, 
and in Italy by Prince Eugene. Portugal soon joined the 
Austrian alliance, and Philip V. and the French becoming un- 
popular in Spain, a small party rose there, advocating the 
claims of the house of Austria. Thus supported, Leopold, at 
Vienna, declared his son Charles King of Spain, and crowned 
him as such in Vienna. By the aid of the English fleet he 
passed from Holland to England, and thence to Lisbon, where 
a powerful army was assembled to invade Spain, wrest the 
crown from Philip, and place it upon the brow of Charles 
III. 

And now Leopold began to reap the bitter consequences 
of his atrocious conduct in Hungary. The Hungarian nobles 



LEOPOLD I. AND THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 333 

embraced this opportunity, when the imperial armies were 
fully engaged, to rise in a new and formidable invasion. Fran- 
cis Ragotsky, a Transylvanian prince, led in the heroic enter- 
prise. He was of one of the noblest and wealthiest families 
of the realm, and was goaded to action by the bitterest wrongs. 
His grandfather and uncle had been beheaded ; his father 
robbed of his property and his rank ; his cousin doomed to 
perpetual imprisonment ; his father-in-law proscribed, and his 
mother driven into exile. The French court immediately 
opened a secret correspondence with Ragotsky, promising him 
large supplies of men and money, and encouraging him with 
hopes of the cooperation of the Turks. Ragotsky secretly 
assembled a band of determined followers, in the savage soli- 
tudes of the Carpathian mountains, and suddenly descended into 
the plains of Hungary, at the head of his wild followers, call- 
ing upon his countrymen to rise and shake off the yoke of the 
detested Austrian. Adherents rapidly gathered around his 
standard ; several fortresses fell into his hands, and he soon 
found himself at the head of twenty thousand well armed 
troops. The flame of insurrection spread, with electric rapid- 
ity, through all Hungary and Transylvania. 

The tyrant Leopold, as he heard these unexpected tidings, 
was struck with consternation. He sent all the troops he could 
collect to oppose the patriots, but they could make no impres- 
sion upon an indignant nation in arms. He then, in his panic, 
attempted negotiation. But the Hungarians demanded terms 
both reasonable and honorable, and to neither of these could 
the emperor possibly submit. They required that the mon- 
archy should no longer be hereditary, but elective, according 
to immemorial usage ; that the Hungarians should have the 
right to resist illegal power without the charge of treason ; 
that foreign officers and garrisons should be removed from the 
kingdom ; that the Protestants should be reestablished in the 
free exercise of their religion, and that their confiscated es- 
tates should De restored. The despot could not listen for one 



334 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

moment to requirements so just ; and appalled by the advance 
of the patriots toward Vienna, he recalled the troops from 
Italy. 

About the same time the Duke of Bavaria, disgusted with 
the arrogance and the despotism of Leopold, renounced alle- 
giance to the emperor, entered into an alliance with the 
French, and at the head of forty thousand troops, French and 
Bavarians, commenced the invasion of Austria from the west. 
Both Eugene and Marlborough hastened to the rescue of the 
emperor. Combining their forces, with awful slaughter they 
mowed down the French and Bavarians at Blenheim, and then 
overran all Bavaria. The elector fled with the mutilated rem- 
nants of his army to France. The conquerors seized all the 
fortresses, all the guns and ammunition ; disbanded the Bava- 
rian troops, took possession of the revenues of the kingdom, 
and assigned to the heart-broken wife of the duke a humble 
residence in the dismantled capital of the duchy. 

The signal victory of Blenheim enabled Leopold to con- 
centrate his energies upon Hungary. It was now winter, and 
the belligerents, during these stormy months, were active in 
making preparations for the campaign of the spring. But Leo- 
pold's hour was now tolled. That summons came which prince 
and peasant must alike obey, and the emperor, after a few 
months of languor and pain, on the 5th of May, 1705, passed 
away to that tribunal where each must answer for every deed 
done In the body. He was sixty-five years of age, and had 
occupied the throne forty-six years. This is the longest reign 
recorded in the Austrian annals, excepting that of Frederic III. 

The reign of Leopold was eventful and woeful. It was al- 
most one continued scene of carnage. In his character there 
was a singular blending of the good and the bad. In what is 
usually called moral character he was irreproachable. He was 
a faithful husband, a kind father, and had no taste for any sen- 
sual pleasures. In his natural disposition he was melancholy, 
and so exceedingly reserved, that he lived in his palace almost 



LEOPOLD I. AND THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 335 

the life of a recluse. Though he was called the most learned 
prince of his age, a Jesuitical education had so poisoned and 
debauched his mind, that while perpetrating the most griev- 
ous crimes of perfidy and cruelty, he seemed sincerely to feel 
that he was doing God service. His persecution of the Prot- 
estants was persistent, relentless and horrible ; while at the 
same time he was scrupulous in his devotions, never allowing 
the cares of business to interfere with the prescribed duties of 
the Church. The Church, the human church of popes, cardi- 
nals, bishops and priests, was his guide, not the divine Bible. 
Hence his darkness of mind and his crimes. Pope Innocent 
XI. deemed him worthy of canonization. But an indignant 
world must in justice inscribe upon his tomb, "Tyrant and 
Persecutor." 

He was three times married ; first, to Margaret, daughter 
of Philip IY. of Spain ; again, to Claudia, daughter of FerdL 
nand of Tyrol ; and a third time, to Eleonora, daughter of 
Philip, Elector Palatine. The character and history of his 
third wife are peculiarly illustrative of the kind of religion in- 
culcated in that day, and of the beautiful spirit of piety often 
exemplified in the midst of melancholy errors. 

In the castle of her father, Eleonora was taught, by priests 
and nuns, that God was only acceptably worshiped by self- 
sacrifice and mortification. The devout child longed for the 
love of God more than for any thing else. Guided by the 
teachings of those who, however sincere, certainly misunder- 
stood the spirit of the gospel, she deprived herself of every 
innocent gratification, and practiced upon her fragile frame all 
the severities of an anchorite. She had been taught that 
celibacy was a virtue peculiarly acceptable to God, and reso- 
lutely declined all solicitations for her hand. 

The emperor, after the death of his first wife, sought Eleo- 
nora as his bride. It was the most brilliant match Europe 
could offer. Eleonora, from religious scruples, rejected the 
offer, notwithstanding all the importunities of her parents, who 



336 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

could not feel reconciled to the loss of so splendid an alliance. 
The devout maiden, in the conflict, exposed herself, bonnet- 
less, to sun and wind, that she might render herself unat- 
tractive, tanned, sun burnt, and freckled, so that the emperor 
might not desire her. She succeeded in repelling the suit, and 
the emperor married Claudia of the Tyrol. The court of the 
Elector Palatine was brilliant in opulence and gayety. Eleo- 
nora was compelled to mingle with the festive throng in the 
scenes of pomp and splendor ; but her thoughts, her affections, 
were elsewhere, and all the vanities of princely life had no in- 
fluence in leading her heart from God. She passed several 
hours, every day, in devotional reading and prayer. She kept 
a very careful register of her thoughts and actions, scrutiniz- 
ing and condemning with unsparing severity every question- 
able emotion. Every sick bed of the poor peasants around, 
she visited with sympathy and as a tender nurse. She groped 
her way into the glooms of prison dungeons to convey solace 
to the prisoner. She wrought ornaments for the Church, and 
toiled, even to weariness and exhaustion, in making garments 
for the poor. 

Claudia in three years died, and the emperor again was 
A eft a widower. Again he applied for the hand of Eleonora. 
Her spiritual advisers now urged that it was clearly the will 
of God that she should fill the first throne of the universe, as 
the patroness and protectress of the Catholic church. For 
such an object she would have been willing to sweep the streets 
or to die in a dungeon. Yielding to these persuasions she mar- 
ried the emperor, and was conveyed, as in a triumphal march, 
to the gorgeous palaces of Vienna. But her character and her 
mode of life were not changed. Though she sat at the impe- 
rial table, which was loaded with every conceivable luxury, 
she condemned herself to fare as humble and abstemious as 
could be found in the hut of the most impoverished peasant. 
It was needful for her at times to appear in the rich garb of 
an empress, but to prevent any possible indulgence of pride, 



LEOPOLD I. AND THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 337 

she had her bracelets and jewelry so arranged with sharp brads 
as to keep her in continued suffering by the laceration of the 
flesh. 

She was, notwithstanding these austerities, which she prac- 
ticed with the utmost secrecy, indefatigable in the discharge 
of her duties as a wife and an empress. She often attended 
the opera with the emperor, but always took with her the 
Psalms of David, bound to resemble the books of the perform- 
ance, and while the tragic or the comic scenes of the stage 
were transpiring before her, she was studying the devout lyrics 
of the Psalmist of Israel. She translated all the Psalms into 
German verse ; and also translated from the French, and had 
printed for the benefit of her subjects, a devotional work en- 
titled, " Pious Reflections for every Day of the Month." Dur- 
ing the last sickness of her husband she watched with un- 
wearied assiduity at his bed-side, shrinking from no amount 
of exhaustion or toil, She survived her husband fifteen years, 
devoting all this time to austerities, self-mortification and deeds 
of charity. She died in 1720 ; and at her express request was 
buried without any parade, and with no other inscription upon 
her tomb than — ■ 

ELEONORA, 

A POOR SINNER, 
Died, January 17, 1720. 

Joseph, the eldest son of Leopold, was twenty-five years 
of age when, by the death of his father, he was called to the 
throne as both king and emperor. He immediately and cor- 
dially cooperated with the alliance his father had formed, and 
pressed the war against France, Spain and Italy. Louis XIY. 
was not a man, however, to be disheartened by disaster. 
Though thousands of his choicest troops had found a grave 
at Blenheim, he immediately collected another army of one 
hundred and sixty thousand men, and pushed them forward to 
the seat of wax on the Rhine and the Danube. Marlborough 

15 



338 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

and Eugene led Austrian forces to the field still more power- 
ful. The whole summer was spent in marches, countermarches 
and bloody battles on both sides of the Rhine. Winter came, 
and its storms and snows drove the exhausted, bleeding com- 
batants from the bleak plains to shelter and the fireside. All 
Europe, through the winter months, resounded with prepara- 
tions for another campaign. There was hardly a petty prince 
on the continent who was not drawn into the strife — to decide 
whether Philip of Bourbon or Charles of Hapsburg, was en- 
titled by hereditary descent to the throne of Spain. 

And now suddenly Charles XII. of Sweden burst in upon 
the scene, like a meteor amidst the stars of midnight. A 
more bloody apparition never emerged from the sulphureous 
canopy of war. Having perfect contempt for all enervating 
oleasures, with an iron frame and the abstemious habits of a 
Spartan, he rushed through a career which has excited the 
wonder of the world. He joined the Austrian party; struck 
down Denmark at a blow ; penetrated Russia in mid-winter, 
driving the Russian troops before him as dogs scatter wolves ; 
pressed on triumphantly to Poland, through an interminable 
series of battles ; drove the king from the country, and placed 
a new sovereign of his own selection upon the throne ; and 
then, proudly assuming to hold the balance between the rival 
powers of France and Austria, made demands of Joseph I., as 
if the emperor were but the vassal of the King of Sweden. 
France and Austria were alike anxious to gain the cooperation 
of this energetic arm. 

Early in May, 1706, the armies of Austria and France, each 
about seventy thousand strong, met in the Netherlands. Marl- 
borough led the allied Austrian troops ; the Duke of Bavaria 
was in command of the French. The French were again 
routed, almost as disastrously as at Blenheim, losing thirteen 
thousand men and fifty pieces of artillery. On the Rhine and 
in Italy the French arms were also in disgrace. Throughout 
the summer battle succeeded battle, and siege followed siege. 



LEOPOLD I. AND THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 339 

When the snows of another winter whitened the plains of Eu- 
rope, the armies again retired to winter quarters, the Austrian 
party having made very decided progress as the result of the 
campaign. Marlborough was in possession of most of the 
Netherlands, and was threatening France with invasion. Eu- 
gene had driven the French out of Italy, and had brought 
many of the Italian provinces under the dominion of Aus- 
tria. 

In Spain, also, the warfare was fiercely raging. Charles III., 
who had been crowned in Vienna King of Spain, and who, as 
we have mentioned, had been conveyed to Lisbon by a British 
fleet, joined by the King of Portugal, and at the head of an 
allied army, marched towards the frontiers of Spain. The 
Spaniards, though they disliked the French, hated virulently 
the English and the Dutch, both of whom they considered 
heretics. Their national pride was roused in seeing England, 
Holland and Portugal marching upon them to place over Spain 
an Austrian king. The populace rose, and after a few san- 
guinary conflicts drove the invaders from their borders. De- 
cember's storms separated the two armies, compelling them to 
seek winter quarters, with only the frontier line between them. 
It was in one of the campaigns of this war, in 1704, that the 
English took the rock of Gibraltar, which they have held from 
that day till this. 

The British people began to remonstrate bitterly against 
this boundless expenditure of blood and treasure merely to re- 
move a Bourbon prince, and place a Hapsburg prince upon 
the throne of Spain. Both were alike despotic in character, 
and Europe had as much to fear from the aggressions of the 
house of Austria as from the ambition of the King of France. 
The Emperor Joseph was very apprehensive that the English 
court might be induced to withdraw from the alliance, and 
fearing that they might sacrifice, as the price of accommoda- 
tion, his conquests in Italy, he privately concluded with France 
a treaty of neutrality for Italy. This secured to him what he 



340 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

had already acquired there, and saved France and Spain from 
the danger of losing any more Italian States. 

Though the allies were indignant, and remonstrated against 
this transaction, they did not see fit to abandon the war. Im- 
mense preparations were made to invade France from the Neth- 
erlands and from Piedmont, in the opening of the spring of 1707. 
Both efforts were only successful in spreading far and wide 
conflagration and blood. The invaders were driven from the 
kingdom with heavy loss. The campaign in Spain, this year, 
was also exceedingly disastrous to the Austrian arms. The 
heterogeneous army of Charles III., composed of Germans, 
English, Dutch, Portuguese, and a few Spanish refugees, were 
routed, and with the loss of thirteen thousand men were driven 
from the kingdom. Joseph, however, who stood in great 
dread of so terrible an enemy as Charles XII., succeeded in 
purchasing his neutrality, and this fiery warrior marched off 
with his battalions, forty-three thousand strong, to drive Pe- 
ter I. from the throne of Russia. 

Joseph I., with exhausted resources, and embarrassed by 
the claims of so wide-spread a war, was able to do but little 
for the subjugation of Hungary. As the campaign of 1708 
oj)ened, two immense armies, each about eighty thousand 
strong, were maneuvering near Brussels. After a long series 
of marches and combinations a general engagement ensued, in 
which the Austrian party, under Marlborough and Eugene, 
were decisively triumphant. The French were routed with 
the loss of fifteen thousand in killed, wounded and prisoners. 
During the whole summer the war raged throughout the Low 
Countries with unabated violence. In Spain, Austria was not 
able to make any progress against Philip and his forces: 

Another winter came, and again the wearied combatants, 
all of whom had received about as many blows as they had 
given, sought repose. The winter was passed in fruitless 
negotiations, and as soon as the buds of another spring be- 
gan to swell, the thunders of war were again pealing over 



LEOPOLD I. AND THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 341 

nearly all the hills and valleys of Europe. The Austrian party 
had resolved, by a gigantic effort, to send an army of one hun- 
dred thousand men to the gates of Paris, there to dictate 
terms to the French monarch. On the 11th of September, 
1709, the Austrian force, eighty thousand strong, with eighty 
pieces of cannon, encountered the French, seventy thousand 
in number, with eighty pieces of cannon, on the field of Mal- 
plaquet. The bloodiest battle of the Spanish succession was 
then fought. The Austrian party, guided by Marlborough 
and Eugene, justly claimed the victory, as they held the field. 
But they lost twenty thousand in killed and wounded, and 
took neither prisoners nor guns. The loss of the French was 
but ten thousand. All this slaughter seemed to be accomplish- 
ing nothing. Philip still stood firm upon the Spanish throne, 
and Charles could scarcely gain the slightest foothold in the 
kingdom which he claimed. On the side of the Rhine and of 
Italy, though blood flowed like water, nothing was accom- 
plished ; the plan of invading France had totally failed, and 
again the combatants were compelled to retire to winter 
quarters. 

For nine years this bloody war had now desolated Europe. 
It is not easy to defend the cause of Austria and her allies in 
this cruel conflict. The Spaniards undeniably preferred Philip 
as their king. Louis XIV. had repeatedly expressed his readi- 
ness to withdraw entirely from the conflict. But the Austrian 
allies demanded that he should either by force or persuasion 
remove Philip from Spain, and place the kingdom in the hands 
of the Austrian prince. But Philip was now an independent 
sovereign who for ten years had occupied the throne. He 
was resolved not to abdicate, and his subjects were resolved 
to support him. Louis XIV. said that he could not wage war- 
fare against his own grandson. The wretched old monarch, 
now feeble, childless, and woe crushed, whose soul was already 
crimsoned with the blood of countless thousands, was so dis- 
pirited by defeat, and so weary of the war, that though he 



342 THE HOUSE OP AUSTEIA. 

still refused to send his armies against his grandson, he even 
offered to pay a monthly subsidy of two hundred thousand 
dollars (one million livres) to the allied Austrian party, to be 
employed in the expulsion of Philip, if they would cease to 
make war upon him. Even to these terms, after blood had 
been flowing in torrents for ten years, Austria, England and 
Holland would not accede. " If I must fight either Austria 
and her allies," said Louis XIV., " or the Spaniards, led by 
their king, my own grandson, I prefer to fight the Austrians." 

The returning sun of the summer of 1710, found the hos- 
tile armies again in the field. The allies of Austria, early in 
April, hoping to surprise the French, assembled, ninety thou- 
sand in number, on the Flemish frontiers of France, trusting 
that by an unexpected attack they might break down the for- 
tresses which had hitherto impeded their way. But the French 
were on the alert to resist them, and the whole summer was 
again expended in fruitless battles. These fierce conflicts so 
concentrated the energies of war in the Netherlands, that but 
little was attempted in the way of invading Spain. The Span- 
ish nobles rallied around Philip, melted their plate to replen- 
ish his treasury, and led their vassals to fight his battles. The 
ecclesiastics, as a body, supported his cause. Philip was a 
zealous Catholic, and the priests considered him as the de- 
fender of the Church, while they had no confidence in Charles 
of Austria, whose cause was advocated by heretical England 
and Holland. 

Charles III. was now in Catalonia, on the Mediterranean 
coast of Spain. He had landed at Barcelona, with a strong force 
of English and Germans. He was a man of but little character, 
and his military operations were conducted entirely by the 
English general Stanhope and the German general Staremberg. 
The English general was haughty and domineering ; the Ger- 
man proud and stubborn. They were in a continued quarrtl 
contesting the preeminence. The two rival monarchs, with 
forces about equal, met in Catalonia a few miles from Sara- 



LEOPOLD I. AND THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 343 

gossa, on the 24th of July, 1710. Though the inefficient 
Charles was very reluctant to hazard a battle, the generals in- 
sisted upon it. The Spaniards were speedily and totally routed. 
Philip fled with a small body-guard to Lerida. His army was 
thoroughly dispersed. The conquerors pressed on toward 
Madrid, crossed the Ebro at Saragossa, where they again en- 
countered, but a short distance from the city, an army strong- 
ly posted upon some heights. Philip was already there. The 
conflict was short but bloody, and the generals of Charles w r ere 
again victorious. Philip, with a disheartened remnant of his 
troops, retreated to Madrid. The generals dragged the timid 
and reluctant Charles on to Madrid, where they arrived on the 
28th of September. There was no force at the capital to op- 
pose them. They were received, however, by the citizens of 
the metropolis as foreign conquerors. Charles rode through 
the deserted streets, meeting only with sullen silence. A few 
who were hired to shout, were pelted, by the populace, with 
mud, as traitors to their lawful king. None flocked to his 
standard. Nobles, clergy, populace, all alike stood aloof from 
him. Charles and his generals were embarrassed and perplexed. 
They could not compel the nation to receive the Austrian 
king. 

Philip, in the meantime, who had much energy and popu- 
larity of character, was rapidly retrieving his losses, and troops 
were flocking to his camp from all parts of Spain. He estab- 
lished his court at Valladolid, about one hundred and fifty 
miles north-east from Madrid. His troops, dispersed by the 
two disastrous battles, were reassembled at Lerida. The peas- 
ants rose in large numbers and joined them, and cut off all 
communication between Charles at Madrid and his ships at 
Barcelona. The Spanish grandees sent urgent messages to 
France for succors. General Vendome, at the head of three 
thousand horse, swept through the defiles of the Pyrenees, 
and, with exultant music and waving banners, joined Philip at 
Valladolid. Universal enthusiasm was excited. Soon thirty 



344 THE HOUSE OF AUSTKIA. 

thousand infantry entered the camp, and then took positions 
on the Tagus, where they could cut off any reinforcements 
which might attempt to march from Portugal to aid the in- 
vaders. 

Charles was apparently in a desperate situation. Famine 
and consequent sickness were in his camp. His army was 
daily dwindling away. He was emphatically in an enemy's 
country. Not a soldier could stray from the ranks without 
danger of assassination. He had taken Madrid, and Madrid 
was his prison. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

JOSEPH I. AND CHARLES VI. 
Prom 1710 to lUf. 

Perplexities in Madrid. — Flight of Charles. — Eetreat op the Austrian Army.— 
Stanhope's Division cut off. — Capture of Stanhope. — Staremberg assailed.— 
Eetreat to Barcelona. — Attempt to pacify Hungary. — TnE Hungarian Diet. 
— Baronial crowning of Bagotsky.— Eenewal of the Hungarian War.— En- 
terprise of Herbeyille. — The Hungarians crushed. — Lenity of Joseph. — 
Death of Joseph. — Accession of Charles VI.— His Career in Spain.— Capture 
of Barcelona. — The Siege. — The Rescue. — Character of Charles. — Cloisters 
of Montserrat. — Increased Efforts for the Spanish Crown.— Charles crowned 
Emperor of Austria and Hungary. — Bohemia. — Deplorable Condition of Louis 
XIV. 

GENERALS Stanhope and Staremberg, who managed the 
affairs of Charles, with but little respect for his judgment, 
and none for his administrative qualities, were in great per- 
plexity respecting the course to be pursued. Some recom- 
mended the transference of the court from Madrid to Sara- 
gossa, where they would be nearer to their supplies. Others 
urged removal to Barcelona, where they would be under the 
protection of the British fleet. It was necessary to watch 
over Charles with the utmost care, as he was in constant dan- 
ger of assassination. While in this state of uncertainty, tid- 
ings reached Madrid that the Duke of Noailles was on the 
march, with fifteen thousand men, to cut off the retreat of the 
Austrians, and at the same time Philip was advancing with a 
powerful army from Valladolid. This intelligence rendered 
instant action necessary. The Austrian party precipitately 
evacuated Madrid, followed by the execrations of the people. 
As soon as the last battalions had left the city, the ringing of 
bells, the firing of artillery, and the shouts of the people, an- 

15* 



346 THE HOUSE OP AUSTEIA : 

nounced the popular exultation in view of the departure of 
Charles, and the cordial greeting they were giving to his rival 
Philip. The complications of politics are very curious. The 
British government was here, through years of war and blood, 
endeavoring to drive from his throne the acknowledged King 
of Spain. In less than a hundred years we find this same 
government again deluging Europe in blood, to reseat upon 
the throne the miserable Ferdinand, the lineal descendant of 
this Bourbon prince. 

Charles put spurs to his horse, and accompanied by a glit- 
tering cavalcade of two thousand cavaliers, galloped over the 
mountains to Barcelona. His army, under the leadership of 
his efficient English general, followed rapidly but cautiously 
on, hoping to press through the defiles of the mountains which 
separated them from Arragon before their passage could be 
obstructed by the foe. The troops were chagrined and dis- 
pirited ; the generals in that state of ill humor which want of 
success generally engenders. The roads were bad, provisions 
scarce, the inhabitants of the country bitterly hostile. It was 
the middle of November, and cold blasts swept through the 
mountains. Staremberg led the van, and Stanhope, with four 
thousand English troops, occupied the post of peril in a retreat, 
the rear. As the people of the country would furnish them 
with no supplies, the pillage of towns and villages became a 
necessity ; but it none the less added to the exasperation of 
the Spaniards. 

A hurried march of about eighty miles brought the troops 
to the banks of the Tagus. As General Staremberg, at the 
head of the advance guard, pressed eagerly on, he left Stan- 
hope at quite a distance behind. They encamped for a night, 
the advance at Cifuentes, the rear at Brihuega. The hostility 
of the natives was such that almost all communication was 
cut off between the two sections of the army. In the con- 
fusion of the hasty retreat, and as no enemy was apprehended 
in that portion of the way, the importance of hourly commu- 



JOSEPH I. AND CHARLES VI. 347 

mcation was forgotten. In the morning, as Stanhope put his 
troops again in motion, he was surprised and alarmed in see- 
ing upon the hills before him the banners of an opposing host, 
far outnumbering his own, and strongly intrenched. The 
Earl of Stanhope at once appreciated the nearly utter hope- 
lessness of his position. He was cut off from the rest of the 
army, had no artillery, but little ammunition, and was almost 
entirely destitute of provision. Still he scorned to surrender. 
He threw his troops behind a stone wall, and vigorously com- 
menced fortifying his position, hoping to be able to hold out 
until Staremberg, hearing of his situation, should come to his 
release. 

During the whole day he beat back the assaults of the 
Spanish army. In the meantime Staremberg was pressing on 
to Barcelona. In the evening of that day he heard of the 
peril of his rear guard. His troops were exhausted ; the 
night of pitchy blackness, and the miry roads, cut to pieces 
by the heavy artillery and baggage wagons, were horrible. 
Through the night he made preparations to turn back to aid 
his beleaguered friends. It was, however, midday before 
he could collect his scattered troops, from their straggling 
march, and commence retracing his steps. In a few hours 
the low sun of a November day sunk below the hills. The 
troops, overtaken by darkness, stumbling through the gloom, 
and apprehensive of a midnight attack, rested upon their 
arms, waiting, through the weary hours, for the dawn of the 
morning. The second day came, and the weary troops toiled 
through the mire, while Stanhope, from behind his slight 
parapet, baffled all the efforts of his foes. 

The third morning dawned. Staremberg was within some 
fifteen miles of Briehuga. Stanhope had now exhausted all his 
ammunition. The inhabitants of the town rose against him 
and attacked him in the rear, while the foe pressed him in 
front. A large number of his troops had already fallen, and 
no longer resistance was possible. Stanhope and the remnant 



348 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

of his band were taken captive and conducted into the town 
of Briehuga. Staremberg, unaware of the surrender, pushed 
on uutil he came within a league of Briehuga. Anxiously he 
threw up signals, but could obtain no response. His fears of 
the worst were soon confirmed by seeing the Spanish army, in 
brilliant battle array, approaching to assail him. Philip him- 
self was there to animate them by his presence ; and the he- 
roic French general, the Duke of Yendome, a descendant of 
Henry IV., led the charging columns. 

Though the troops of Staremberg were inferior in number 
to those of the Sj)anish monarch, and greatly fatigued by their 
forced marches, a retreat at that moment, in the face of so act- 
ive an enemy, was not to be thought of. The battle imme- 
diately commenced, with its rushing squadrons and its thunder 
peals. The Spaniards, sanguine of success, and inspired with 
the intensest hatred of their heretical foes, charged with irre- 
sistible fury. The left wing of Staremberg was speedily cut 
to pieces, and the baggage taken. The center and the right 
maintained their ground until night came to their protection. 
Staremberg's army was now reduced to nine thousand. His 
horses were either slain or worn out by fatigue. He was con- 
sequently compelled to abandon all his artillery and most of 
his baggage, as he again commenced a rapid retreat towards 
Barcelona. The enemy pressed him every step of the way. 
But with great heroism and military skill he baffled their en- 
deavors to destroy him, and after one of the most arduous 
marches on record, reached Barcelona with a feeble remnant 
of but seven thousand men, ragged, emaciated and bleeding. 
Behind the walls of this fortified city, and protected by the 
fleet of England, they found repose. 

We must now turn back a few years, to trace the progress 
of events in Hungary and Austria. Joseph, the amperor, had 
sufficient intelligence to understand that the rebellious and an- 
archical state of Hungary was owing to the cruelty and in- 
tolerance of his father. He saw, also, that there could be no 



JOSEPH I. AND CHAKLES VI. 349 

hope of permanent tranquillity but in paying some respect to 
the aspirations for civil and religious liberty. The troubles in 
Hungary distracted his attention, exhausted the energies of 
his troops, and deprived him of a large portion of his political 
and military power. He now resolved to try the effect of con 
cessions. The opportunity was propitious, as he could throw 
upon his father the blame of all past decrees. He accordingly 
sent a messenger to the Hungarian nobles with the declaration 
that during his father's lifetime he had never interfered in the 
government, and that consequently he was in no respect re- 
sponsible for the persecution of which they complained. And 
he promised, on the honor of a king, that instead of attempt- 
ing the enforcement of those rigorous decrees, he would faith- 
fully fulfill all the articles he had sworn to observe at his coro- 
nation ; and that he accordingly summoned a diet for the re- 
dress of their grievances and the confirmation of all their 
ancient privileges. As proof of his sincerity, he dismissed those 
ministers who had advised the intolerant decrees enacted by 
Leopold, and appointed in their place men of more mild and 
lenient character. 

But the Hungarians, deeming themselves now in a position 
to enforce their claims by the energies of their army, feared 
to trust to the promises of a court so often perjured. Without 
openly renouncing allegiance to Austria, and declaring inde- 
pendence, they, through Ragotsky, summoned a diet to meet 
at Stetzim, where their session would be protected by the Hun- 
garian army. There was a large gathering of all the first no- 
bility of the realm. A spacious tent was spread for the im- 
posing assembly, and the army encircled it as with a sheltering 
embrace. The session was opened with prayer and the ad- 
ministration of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Will the 
time ever cpme when the members of the United States Con- 
gress will meet as Christian brethren, at the table of our Sa- 
viour, as they commence their annual deliberations for the wel- 
fare of th ; s republic ? The nobles formed a confederacy for 



350 THE .HOUSE OF AUSTKIA. 

the government of the country. The legislative power wa3 
committed to a senate of twenty-four nobles. Ragotsky was 
chosen military chief, with the title of Dux, or leader. Four 
of the most illustrious nobles raised Ragotsky upon a buckler 
on their shoulders, when he took the oath of fidelity to the 
government thus provisionally established, and then adminis- 
tered the oath to his confederates. They all bound themselves 
solemnly not to conclude any peace with the emperor, until 
their ancient rights, both civil and religious, were fully re- 
stored. 

In reply to the advances made by the emperor, they re- 
turned the very reasonable and moderate demands that their 
chief, Ragotsky, should be reinstated in his ancestral realms ot 
Transylvania, that the claim of hereditary sovereignty should 
be relinquished, and that there should be the restoration of 
those ancient civil and religious immunities of which Leopold 
had defrauded them. Upon these conditions they promised 
to recognize Joseph as their sovereign during his lifetime ; 
claiming at his death their time-honored right of choosing his 
successor. Joseph would not listen for one moment to these 
terms, and the war was renewed with fury. 

The Hungarian patriots had seventy-five thousand men 
under arms. The spirit of the whole nation was with them, 
and the Austrian troops were driven from almost every for- 
tress in the kingdom. The affairs of Joseph seemed to be 
almost desperate, his armies struggling against overpowering 
foes all over Europe, from the remotest borders of Transylva- 
nia to the frontiers of Portugal. The vicissitudes of war are 
proverbial. An energetic, sagacious general, Herbeville, with 
great military sagacity, and aided by a peculiar series of for- 
tunate events, marched down the valley of the Danube to 
Buda ; crossed the stream to Pesth ; pushed boldly on through 
the heart of Hungary to Great Waradin, forced the defiles of 
the mountains, and entered Transylvania. Through a series 
of brilliant victories he took fortress after fortress, until he 



JOSEPH I. AND CHARLES VI. 351 

subjugated the whole of Transylvania, and brought it again 
into subjection to the Austrian crown. This was in Novem- 
Der, 1 705. 

But the Hungarians, instead of being intimidated by the 
success of the imperial arms, summoned another diet. It was 
aeld in the open field in accordance with ancient custom, and 
was thronged by thousands from all parts of the kingdom. 
With great enthusiasm and public acclaim the resolution was 
passed that Joseph was a tyrant and a usurper, animated by 
the hereditary despotism of the Austrian family. This truth- 
ful utterance roused anew the ire of the emperor. He re- 
solved upon a desperate effort to bring Hungary into subjec- 
tion. Leaving his English and Dutch allies to meet the brunt 
of the battle on the Rhine and in the Netherlands, he recalled 
his best troops, and made forced levies in Austria until he had 
created an army sufficiently strong, as he thought, to sweep 
down all opposition. These troops he placed under the most 
experienced generals, and sent them into Hungary in the sum- 
mer of 1708. France, weakened by repeated defeats, could 
send the Hungarians no aid, and the imperial troops, through 
bloody battles, victoriously traversed the kingdom. Every- 
where the Hungarians were routed and dispersed, until no 
semblance of an army was left to oppose the victors. It seems 
that life in those days, to the masses of the people, swept in- 
cessantly by these fiery surges of war, could only have been a 
scene, from the cradle to the grave, of blood and agony. For 
two years this dismal storm of battle howled over all the Hun- 
garian plains, and then the kingdom, like a victim exhausted, 
prostrate and bleeding, was taken captive and firmly bound. 

Ragotsky, denounced with the penalty of high treason, es- 
caped to Poland. The emperor, anxious no longer to exasper- 
ate, proposed measures of unusual moderation. He assembled 
a convention ; promised a general amnesty for all political 
offenses, the restitution of confiscated property, the liberation 
of prisoners, and the confirmation of all the rights which he 



352 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

had promised at his coronation. Some important points were 
not touched upon ; others were passed over in vague and gen- 
eral terms. The Hungarians, helpless as a babe, had nothing 
to do but to submit, whatever the terms might be. They were 
surprised at the unprecedented lenity of the conqueror, and 
the treaty of peace and subjection was signed in January, 
1711. 

In three months after the signing of this treaty, Joseph I. 
died of the small-pox, in his palace of Vienna. He was but 
thirty-three years of age. For a sovereign educated from the 
cradle to despotic rule, and instructed by one of the most big- 
oted of fathers, he was an unusually good man, and must be 
regarded as one of the best sovereigns who have swayed the 
scepter of Austrian despotism. 

The law of hereditary descent is frequently involved in 
great embarrassment. Leopold, to obviate disputes which he 
foresaw were likely to arise, had assigned Hungary, Bohemia, 
and his other hereditary estates, to Joseph. To Charles he 
had assigned the vast Spanish inheritance. In case Joseph 
should die without male issue he had decreed that the crown 
of the Austrian dominions should also pass to Charles. In 
case Charles should also die without issue male, the crown 
should then revert to the daughters of Joseph in preference to 
those of Charles. Joseph left no son. He had two daugh- 
ters, the eldest of whom was but twelve years of age. Charles, 
who was now in Barcelona, claiming the crown of Spain as 
Charles III., had no Spanish blood in his veins. He was the 
son of Leopold, and of his third wife, the devout and lovely 
Eleonora, daughter of the Elector Palatine. He was now but 
twenty-eight years of age. For ten years he had been strug- 
gling for the crown which his father Leopold had claimed, as 
succeeding to the rights of his first wife Margaret, daughter 
of Philip IV. 

Charles was a genteel, accomplished young man of eighteen 
when he left his father's palace at Vienna, for England, where 



JOSEPH I. AND CHARLES VI. 353 

a British fleet was to convey him to Portugal, and, by the en- 
ergy of its fleet and army, place him upon the throne of Spain. 
He was received at Portsmouth in England, when he landed 
from Holland, with much parade, and was conducted by the 
Dukes of Marlborough and Somerset to Windsor castle, where 
he had an interview with Queen Anne. His appearance at that 
time is thus described by his partial chroniclers : 

" The court was very splendid and much thronged. The 
queen's behavior toward him was very noble and obliging. 
The young king charmed all who were present. He had a 
gravity beyond his age, tempered with much modesty. His 
behavior in all points was so exact, that there was not a cir- 
cumstance in his whole deportment which was liable to cen- 
sure. He paid an extraordinary respect to the queen, and yet 
maintained a due greatness in it. He had the art of seeming 
well pleased with every thing, without so much as smiling 
once all the while he was at court, which was only three days. 
He spoke but little, and all he said was judicious and oblig- 
ing." 

Young Charles was engaged to the daughter of the King 
of Portugal ; but the young lady died just before his arrival 
at Lisbon. As he had never seen the infanta, his grief could 
not have been very deep, however great his disappointment 
might have been. He made several attempts to penetrate 
Spain by the Portuguese frontier, but being repelled in every 
effort, by the troops of Philip, he again embarked, and with 
twelve thousand troops in an English fleet, sailed around the 
Peninsula, entered the Mediterranean and landed on the shores 
of Catalonia, where he had been led to believe that the inhabi- 
tants in a body would rally around him. But he was bitterly 
disappointed. The Earl of Peterborough, who was intrusted 
with the command of this expedition, in a letter home gave 
free utterance to his disappointment and chagrin. 

" Instead of ten thousand men, and in arms," he wrote, 
"to cover our landing and strengthen our camp, we found 



354 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

only so many higglers and sutlers flocking into it. Instead 
of finding Barcelona in a weak condition, and ready to surren- 
der upon the first appearance of our troops, we found a strong 
garrison to oppose us, and a hostile army almost equal to our 
own." 

In this dilemma a council of war was held, and though 
many were in favor of abandoning the enterprise and returning 
to Portugal, it was at last determined, through the urgency of 
Charles, to remain and lay siege to the city. Barcelona, the 
capital of Catalonia, was then the principal sea-port of the 
Spanish peninsula on the Mediterranean. It contained a pop- 
ulation of about one hundred and forty thousand. It was 
strongly fortified. West of the city there was a mountain 
called Montjoy, upon which there was a strong fort which 
commanded the harbor and the town. After a short siege this 
fort was taken by storm, and the city was then forced to sur- 
render. 

Philip soon advanced with an army of French and Span- 
iards to retake the city. The English fleet had retired. 
Twenty-eight French ships of war blockaded the harbor, 
which they could not enter, as it was commanded by the 
guns of Montjoy. The siege was very desperate both in the 
assault and the defense. The young king, Charles, was in the 
most imminent danger of falling into the hands of his foes. 
There was no possibility of escape, and it seemed inevitable 
that the city must either surrender, or be taken by storm. 
The French and Spanish army numbered twenty thousand 
men. They first attempted to storm Montjoy, but were 
repulsed with great slaughter. They then besieged it, and 
by regular approaches compelled its capitulation in three 
weeks. 

This noble resistance enabled the troops in the city great- 
ly to multiply and increase their defenses. They thus suc- 
ceeded in protracting the siege of the town five weeks longer. 
Every day the beleagured troops from the crumbling ram- 



JOSEPH I. AND CHARLES VI. 355 

parts watched the blue expanse of the Mediterranean, hoping 
to see the sails of an English fleet coming to their rescue. 
Two breaches were already effected in the walls. The gar- 
rison, reduced to two thousand, and exhausted by superhuman 
exertions by day and by night, were almost in the last stages 
of despair, when, in the distant horizon, the long looked-for 
fleet appeared. The French ships, by no means able to cope 
with such a force, spread their sails, and sought safety in 
flight. 

The English fleet, amounting to fifty sail of the line, and 
transporting a large number of land troops, triumphantly 
entered the harbor on the 3rd of May, 1706. The fresh 
soldiers were speedily landed, and marched to the ramparts 
and the breaches. This strong reinforcement annihilated the 
hopes of the besiegers. Apprehensive of an immediate sally, 
they retreated with such precipitation that they left behind 
them in the hospitals their sick and wounded ; they also 
abandoned their heavy artillery, and an immense quantity of 
military stores. 

Whatever energy Charles might have shown during the 
siege, all seemed now to evaporate. When the shot of the foe 
were crumbling the walls of Barcelona, he was in danger of 
the terrible doom of being taken a captive, which would have 
been the annihilation of all his hopes. Despair nerved him to 
effort. But now his person was no longer in danger; and 
his natural inefficiency and dilatoriness returned. Notwith- 
standing the urgent intreaties of the Earl of Peterborough 
to pursue the foe, he insisted upon first making a pilgrimage 
to the shrine of the holy Virgin at Montserrat, twenty-four 
miles from Barcelona. 

This curious monastery consists of but a succession of 
cloisters or hermitages hewn out of the solid rock. They are 
only accessible by steps as steep as a ladder, which are also 
hewn upon the face of the almost precipitous mountain. The 
highest of these cells, and which are occupied by the youngest 



356 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

monks, are at an elevation of three or four thousand feet above 
the level of the Mediterranean. Soon after Charles's pilgrim- 
age to Montserrat, he made a triumphal march to Madrid, 
entered the city, and caused himself to be proclaimed king 
under the title of Charles III. But Philip soon came upon him 
with such force that he was compelled to retreat back to 
Barcelona. Again, in 1710, he succeeded in reaching Madrid, 
and, as we have described, he was driven back, with accumu- 
lated disaster, to Catalonia. 

Three months after this defeat, when his affairs in Spain 
were assuming the gloomiest aspect, a courier arrived at Bar- 
celona, and informed him that his brother Joseph was dead ; 
that he had already been proclaimed King of Hungary and Bo- 
hemia, and Archduke of Austria ; and that it was a matter of 
the most urgent necessity that he should immediately return 
to Germany. Charles immediately embarked at Barcelona, 
and landed near Genoa on the 27th of September. Rapidly 
pressing on through the Italian States, he entered Milan on 
the 16th of October, where he was greeted with the joyful 
intelligence that a diet had been convened under the influence 
of Prince Eugene, and that by its unanimous vote he was in- 
vested with the imperial throne. He immediately proceeded 
through the Tyrol to Frankfort, where he w T as crowned on 
the 22d of December. He was now more than ever deter- 
mined that the diadem of Spain should be added to the other 
crowns which had been placed upon his brow. 

In the incessant wars which for centuries had been waged 
between the princes and States of Germany and the emperor, 
the States had acquired virtually a constitution, which they 
called a capitulation. When Charles was crowned as Charles 
VI., he was obliged to promise that he would never assemble 
a diet or council without convening all the princes and States 
of the empire ; that he would never wage war, or conclude 
peace, or enter into alliance with any nation without the con- 
sent of the States ; that he would not, of his own authority, 



JOSEPH I. AND CHARLES VI. 357 

put any prince under the ban of the empire ; that confiscated 
territory should never be conferred upon any members of his 
own family, and that no successor to the imperial crown should 
be chosen during his lifetime, unless absence from Germany 
or the infirmities of age rendered him incapable of administer- 
ing the affairs of the empire. 

The emperor, invested with the imperial crown, hastened 
to Vienna, and, with unexpected energy, entered upon the 
administration of the complicated interests of his wide-spread 
realms. After passing a few weeks in Vienna, he repaired to 
Prague, where, in May, he was, w T ith much pomp, crowned 
King of Hungary. He then returned to Vienna, and pre- 
pared to press with new vigor the war of the Spanish suc- 
cession. 

Louis XIV. was now suffering the earthly retribution for 
his ill-spent life. The finances of the realm were in a state of 
hopeless embarrassment ; famine was filling the kingdom with 
misery ; his armies were everywhere defeated ; the impreca- 
tions of a beggared people were rising around his throne ; 
his palace was the scene of incessant feuds and intrigues. His 
children were dead ; he was old, infirm, sick, the victim of in- 
supportable melancholy — utterly weary of life, and yet awfully 
afraid to die. France, in the person of Louis XIV., who 
could justly say, " I am the State," was humbled. 

The accession of Charles to the throne of the empire, and 
to that of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, while at the same 
time he claimed sovereignty over the vast realms of the Span- 
ish kingdom, invested him with such enormous power, that 
England, which had combined Europe against the colossal 
growth of France, having humbled that power, was disposed 
to form a combination against Austria. There was in conse- 
quence an immediate relaxation of hostilities just at the time 
when the French batteries on the frontiers were battered down, 
and when the allied army had apparently an unobstructed way 
opened to the gates of Paris. In this state of affairs the Brit- 



358 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

ish ministry pressed negotiations for peace. The prelimina- 
ries were settled in London on the 8th of October, 1711. By 
this treaty Louis XIV. agreed to make such a change in the 
law of hereditary descent, as to render it impossible for any 
king to wear at the same time the crowns of France and of 
Spain, and made various other important concessions. 

Charles, whose ambition was roused by his sudden and un 
expected elevation, exerted all his energies to thwart the prog 
ress of negotiations, and bitterly complained that the allies 
were dishonorably deserting the cause which they had es- 
poused. The emperor dispatched circular letters to all the 
courts of Europe, and sent Prince Eugene as a special ambas- 
sador to London, to influence Queen Anne, if possible, to per- 
severe in the grand alliance. But he was entirely unsuccessful. 
The Duke of Marlborough was disgraced, and dismissed from 
office. The peace party rendered Eugene so unpopular that 
he was insulted in the streets of London. The Austrian party 
in England was utterly defeated, and a congress was appointed 
to meet at Utrecht to settle the terms of peace. But Charles 
was now so powerful that he resolved to prosecute the war 
even though abandoned by England. He accordingly sent an 
ambassador to Utrecht to embarrass the proceedings as much 
as possible, and, in case the grand alliance should be broken 
up, to secure as many powers as possible in fidelity to Aus- 
tria. 

The States of the Netherlands were still warmly with Aus- 
tria, as they dreaded so formidable a power as France direct- 
ly upon their frontier. The other minor powers of the alliance 
were also rather inclined to remain with Austria. The war 
continued while the terms of peace were under discussion. 
England, however, entered into a private understanding with 
France, and the Duke of Ormond, who had succeeded Marl- 
borough, received secret orders not to take part in any battle 
or siege. The developments, upon fields of battle, of this dis- 
honorable arrangement, caused great indignation on the part 



JOSEPH I. AND CHARLES VI. 359 

of the allies. The British forces withdrew, and the French 
armies, taking advantage of the great embarrassments thus 
caused, were again gaining the ascendency. Portugal soon 
followed the example of England and abandoned the alliance. 
The Duke of Savoy was the next to leave. The alliance 
was evidently crumbling to pieces, and on the 11th of April, 
1713, all the belligerents, excepting the emperor, signed the 
treaty of peace. Philip of Spain also acceded to the same 
articles. 

Charles was very indignant in being thus abandoned ; and 
unduly estimating his strength, resolved alone, with the re- 
sources which the empire afforded him, to prosecute the war 
against France and Spain. Having nothing to fear from a 
Spanish invasion, he for a time relinquished his attempts upon 
Spain, and concentrating his armies upon the Rhiue, prepared 
for a desperate onset upon France. For two years the war 
raged between Austria and France with war's usual vicissi- 
tudes of defeat and victory on either side. It was soon evi- 
dent that the combatants were too equally matched for either 
party to hope to gain any decisive advantage over the other. 
On the 7th of September, 1714, France and Austria agreed to 
sheathe the sword. The war had raged for fourteen years, 
with an expenditure of blood and treasure, and an accumula- 
tion of misery which never can be guaged. Every party had 
lost fourfold more than it had gained. " A war," says Mar- 
shal Villers, " which had desolated the greater part of Europe, 
was concluded almost on the very terms which might have 
been procured at the commencement of hostilities." 

By this treaty of peace, which was signed at Baden, in 
Switzerland, the States of the Netherlands were left in the 
hands of Austria ; and also the Italian States of Naples, Milan, 
Mantua and Sardinia. The thunders of artillery had hardly 
ceased to reverberate over the marshes of Holland and along 
the banks of the Rhine, ere the " blast of war's loud organ" 
and the tramp of charging squadrons were heard rising anew 



360 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

from the distant mountains of Sclavonia. The Turks, in vio- 
lation of their treaty of peace, were again on the march, as- 
cending the Danube along its southern banks, through the 
defiles of the Sclavonian mountains. In a motley mass of one 
hundred and fifty thousand men they had passed Belgrade, 
crossed the Save, and were approaching Peterwarden. 

Eugene was instantly disj:>atched with an efficient, compact 
army, disciplined by twelve years of warfare, to resist the Mos- 
lem invaders. The hostile battalions met at Karlowitz, but a 
few miles from Peterwarden, on the 5th of August, 1716. The 
tempest blazed with terrific fury for a few hours, when the 
Turkish host turned and fled. Thirty thousand of their num- 
ber, including the grand vizier who led the host, were left dead 
upon the field. In their utter discomfiture they abandoned 
two hundred and fifty pieces of heavy artillery, and baggage, 
tents and military stores to an immense amount. Fifty Turk- 
ish banners embellished the camp of the victors. 

And now Eugene led his triumphant troops, sixty thousand 
in number, down the river to lay siege to Belgrade. This for- 
tress, which the labor of ages had strengthened, was garrisoned 
by thirty thousand troops, and was deemed almost impregna- 
ble. Eugene invested the place and commenced the slow and 
tedious operations of a siege. The sultan immediately dis- 
patched an army of two hundred thousand men to the relief 
of his beleaguered fortress. The Turks, arriving at the scene 
of action, did not venture an assault upon their intrenched 
foes, but intrenched themselves on heights, outside of the be- 
6ieging camp, in a semicircle extending from the Danube to 
the Save. They thus shut up the besiegers in the miasmatic 
marshes which surrounded the city, cut off their supplies of 
provisions, and from their advancing batteries threw shot into 
the Austrian camp. "A man," said Napoleon, "is not a sol- 
dier." The Turks had two hundred thousand men in their camp, 
raw recruits. Eugene had sixty thousand veteran soldiers. 
He decided to drive off the Turks who annoyed him. It was 



JOSEPH I. AND CHAELES VI. 361 

necessary for him to detach twenty thousand to hold in check 
the garrison of Belgrade, who might sally to the relief of their 
companions. This left him but forty thousand troops with 
whom to assail two hundred thousand strongly intrenched. 
He did not hesitate in the undertaking. 

* 



CEAPTBU XXIII. 

CHAELES VI. 
From 1716 to 1121. 

Heroic Decision of Eugene. — Battle of Belgrade. — Utter Rottt of the Turks.— 
Possessions of Charles VI. — The Elector of Hanover succeeds to tiie English 
Throne. — Preparations for War. — State of Italy. — Philip V. of Spain. — Dip- 
lomatic Agitations.— Palace of St. Ildefonso.— Order of the Golden Fleece. 
— Rejection of Maria Anne.— Contest for the Rock of Gibraltar.— Dismissal 
of Ripperda. — Treaty of Vienna. — Peace concluded. 

THE enterprise upon which Eugene had resolved was bold 
in the extreme. It could odIv be accomplished by con 
eummate bravery aided by equal military skill. The foe they 
were to attack were five to one, and were protected by well- 
constructed redoubts, armed with the most formidable bat- 
teries. They were also abundantly supplied with cavalry, and 
the Turkish cavalry were esteemed the finest horsemen in the 
world. There was but one circumstance in favor of Eugene. 
The Turks did not dream that he would have the audacity to 
march from the protection of his intrenchments and assail them 
behind their own strong ramparts. There was consequently 
but little difficulty in effecting a surprise. 

All the arrangements were made with the utmost precision 
and secrecy for a midnight attack. The favorable hour came. 
The sun went down in clouds, and a night of Egyptian dark- 
ness enveloped the armies. The glimmer of innumerable 
camp-fires only pointed out the position of the foe, without 
throwing any illumination upon the field. Eugene visited all 
the posts of the army, ordered abundant refreshment to be 
distributed to the troops, addressed them in encouraging 



CHAELES VI. 36'J 

words, to impress upon them the importance of the enterprise, 
and minutely assigned to each battalion, regiment, brigade 
and division its duty, that there might be no confusion. The 
whole plan was carefully arranged in all its details and in all 
its grand combination. As the bells of Belgrade tolled the 
hour of twelve at midnight, three bombs, simultaneously dis- 
charged, put the whole Austrian army in rapid and noiseless 
motion. 

A dense fog had now descended, through which they could 
with difficulty discern the twinkling lights of the Turkish 
camp. Rapidly they traversed the intervening space, and in 
dense, solid columns, rushed over the ramparts of the foe. 
Bombs, cannon, musketry, bayonets, cavalry, all were em- 
ployed, amidst the thunderings and the lightnings of that mid- 
night storm of war, in the work of destruction. The Turks, 
roused from their slumber, amazed, bewildered, fought for a 
short time with maniacal fury, often pouring volleys of bullets 
into the bosoms of their friends, and with bloody cimeters 
smiting indiscriminately on the right hand and the left, till, in 
the midst of a scene of confusion and horror which no imagi- 
nation can conceive, they broke and fled. Two hundred thou- 
sand men, lighted only by the flash of guns which mowed their 
ranks, with thousands of panic-stricken cavalry trampling over 
them, while the crash of musketry, the explosions of artillery, 
the shouts of the assailants and the fugitives, and the shrieks 
of the dying, blended in a roar more appalling than heaven's 
heaviest thunders, presented a scene which has few parallels 
even in the horrid annals of war. 

The morning dawned upon a field of blood and death. The 
victory of the Austrians was most decisive. The flower of the 
Turkish army was cut to pieces, and the remnant was utterly 
dispersed. The Turkish camp, with all its abundant booty of 
tents, provisions, ammunition and artillery, fell into the hands 
of the conqueror. So signal was the victory, that the dis- 
heartened Turks made no attempt to retrieve their loss. Bel- 



364 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

grade was surrendered to the Austrians, and the sultan im- 
plored peace. The articles were signed in Passarovitz, a small 
town of Servia, in July, 171 8. By this treaty the emperor 
added Belgrade to his dominions, and also a large part of 
Wallachia and Servia. 

Austria and Spain were still in heart at war, as the em- 
peror claimed the crown of Spain, and was only delaying act- 
ive hostilities until he could dispose of his more immediate foes. 
Charles, soon after the death of his cousin, the Portuguese 
princess, with whom he had formed a matrimonial engagement, 
married Elizabeth Christina, a princess of Brunswick. The 
imperial family now consisted of three daughters, Maria The- 
resa, Maria Anne and Maria Amelia. It will be remembered 
that by the family compact established by Leopold, the suc- 
cession was entailed upon Charles in preference to the daugh- 
ters of Joseph, in case Joseph should die without male issue. 
But should Charles die without male issue, the crown was to 
revert to the daughters of Joseph in preference to those of 
Charles. The emperor, having three daughters and no sons, 
with natural parental partiality, but unjustly, and with great 
want of magnanimity, was anxious to deprive the daughters of 
Joseph of their rights, that he might secure the crown for his own 
daughters. He accordingly issued a decree reversing this con- 
tract, and settling the right of succession first upon his daugh- 
ters, should he die without sons, then upon the daughters of 
Joseph, one of whom had married the Elector of Saxony and 
the other the Elector of Bavaria. After them he declared his 
sister, who had married the King of Portugal, and then his 
other sisters, the daughters of Leopold, to be in the line of 
succession. This new law of succession Charles issued under 
the name of the Pragmatic Sanction. He compelled his nieces, 
the daughters of Joseph, to give their assent to this Sanction, 
and then, for the remainder of his reign, made the greatest ef- 
forts to induce all the powers of Europe to acknowledge its 
validity. 



CHARLES VI. 365 

Charles VI. was now, as to the extent of territory over 
which he reigned and the population subject to his sway, de- 
cidedly the most powerful monarch in Christendom. Three 
hundred princes of the German empire acknowledged him as 
their elected sovereign. By hereditary right he claimed do- 
minion over Bohemia, Hungary, Transylvania, Wallachia, Ser- 
via, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, the Tyrol, and all the rich and 
populous States of the Netherlands. Naples, Sicily, Mantua 
and Milan in Italy, also recognized his sovereignty. To en- 
lightened reason nothing can seem more absurd than that one 
man, of very moderate capacities, luxuriating in his palace at 
Vienna, should pretend to hold dominion over so many mil- 
lions so widely dispersed. But the progress of the world to- 
wards intelligent liberty has been very slow. When we con- 
trast the constitution of the United States with such a political 
condition, all our evils and difficulties dwindle to utter insig- 
nificance. 

Still the power of the emperor was in many respects ap- 
parent rather than real. Each of these States had its own 
customs and laws. The nobles were tumultuary, and ever 
ready, if their privileges were infringed, to rise in insur- 
rection. Military force alone could hold these turbulent 
realms in awe; and the old feudal servitude which crushed 
the millions, was but another name for anarchy. The peace 
establishment of the emperor amounted to one hundred thou- 
sand men, and every one of these was necessary simply to gar- 
rison his fortresses. The enormous expense of the support of 
such an army, with all the outlays for the materiel of war, the 
cavalry, and the structure of vast fortresses, exhausted the 
revenues of a kingdom in which the masses of the people 
were so miserably poor that they were scarcely elevated 
above the beasts of the field, and where the finances had long 
been in almost irreparable disorder. The years of peace, how- 
ever, were very few. War, a maelstrom which ingulfs un- 
counted millions, seems to have been the normal state of Ger- 



366 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

many. But the treasury of Charles was so constantly drained 
that he could never, even in his greatest straits, raise more 
than one hundred and sixty thousand men ; and he was often 
compelled to call upon the aid of a foreign purse to meet the 
expense which that number involved. Within a hundred 
years the nations have made vast strides in wealth, and in the 
consequent ability to throw away millions in war. 

Charles VI. commenced his reign with intense devotion to 
business. He resolved to be an illustrious emperor, vigor- 
ously superintending all the interests of the empire, legislative, 
judicial and executive. For a few weeks he was busy night 
and day, buried in a hopeless mass of diplomatic papers. But 
he soon became weary of this, and leaving all the ordinary 
affairs of the State in the hands of agents, amused himself 
with his violin and in chasing rabbits. As more serious 
employment, he gave pompous receptions, and enveloped 
himself in imperial ceremony and the most ajmroved courtly 
etiquette. He still, however, insisted upon giving his ap- 
proval to all measures adopted by his ministers, before they 
were carried into execution. But as he was too busy with 
his entertainments, his music and the chase, to devote much 
time to the dry details of government, papers were accumu- 
lating in a mountainous heap in his cabinet, and the most 
important business was neglected. 

Charles XII. was now King of Sweden ; Peter the Great, 
Emperor of Russia ; George I., King of England ; and the 
shameful regency had succeeded, in France, the reign of 
Louis XIV. For eighteen years a bloody war had been 
sweeping the plains of Poland, Russia and Sweden. Thou- 
sands had been torn to pieces by the enginery of war, and 
trampled beneath iron hoofs. Millions of women and children 
had been impoverished, beggared, and turned out houseless 
into the fields to moan and starve and die. The claims of 
humanity must ever yield to the requisitions of war. This 
fierce battle of eighteen years was fought to decide which of 



CHARLES VI. S61 

three men, Peter of Russia, Charles of Sweden, or Augustus 
of Poland, should have the right to exact tribute from Li- 
vonia. This province was a vast pasture on the Baltic, con- 
taining about seventeen thousand square miles, and inhabited 
by about five hundred thousand poor herdsmen and tillers of 
the soil. 

Peter the Great was in the end victorious in this long con- 
flict ; and having attached large portions of Sweden to his 
territory, with a navy upon the Baltic, and a disciplined 
army, began to be regarded as a European power, and was 
quite disposed to make his voice heard in the diplomacy of 
Europe. Queen Anne having died, leaving no children, the 
law of hereditary descent carried the crown of England to 
Germany, and placed it upon the brow of the Elector of 
Hanover, who, as grandson of James I., was the nearest heir, 
but who could not speak a word of English, who knew noth- 
ing of constitutional law, and who was about as well qualified 
to govern England as a Patagonian or Esquimaux would have 
been. But obedience to this law of hereditary descent was 
a political necessity. There were thousands of able men in 
England who could have administered the government with 
honor to themselves and to the country. But it is said in re- 
ply that the people of England, as a body, were not then, and 
probably are not even now, sufficiently enlightened to be in- 
trusted with the choice of their own rulers. Respect for the 
ballot-box is one of the last and highest attainments of civiliza- 
tion. Recent developments in our own land have led many 
to fear that barbarism is gaining upon the people. If the 
ballot-box be overturned, the cartridge-box must take its 
place. The great battle we have to fight is the battle against 
popular ignorance. The great army we are to support is the 
army of teachers in the schools and in the pulpit, elevating 
the mind to the highest possible intelligence, and guiding the 
heart by the pure spirit of the gospel. 

The emperor was so crowded with affairs of immediate 



368 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

urgency, and it was so evident that he could not drive Philip 
from the throne, now that he was recognized by all Europe, 
that he postponed the attempt for a season, while he still 
adopted the title of King of Spain. His troops had hardly 
returned from the brilliant campaign of Belgrade, ere the em- 
peror saw a cloud gathering in the north, which excited his 
most serious apprehension. Russia and Sweden, irritated by 
some of the acts of the emperor, formed an alliance for the 
invasion of the German empire. The fierce warriors of the 
north, led by such captains as Charles XII. and Peter the 
Great, were foes not to be despised. This threatened invasion 
not only alarmed the emperor, but alarmed George I. of 
England, as his electorate of Hanover was imperiled; and 
also excited the fears of Augustus, the Elector of Saxony, who 
had regained the throne of Poland. England and Poland 
consequently united with the emperor, and formidable prep- 
arations were in progress for a terrible war, when one single 
chance bullet, upon the field of Pultowa, struck Charles XII., 
as he was looking over the parapet, and dispersed this cloud 
which threatened the desolation of all Europe. 

Austria was now the preponderating power in degenerate 
Italy. Even those States which were not in subjection to the 
emperor, were overawed by his imperious spirit. Genoa was 
nominally independent. The Genoese arrested one of the 
imperial officers for some violation of the laws of the republic, 
The emperor sent an army to the gates of the city, threaten- 
ing it with bombardment and utter destruction. They were 
thus compelled immediately to liberate the officer, to pay a 
fine of three hundred thousand dollars, and to send a senator 
to Vienna with humble expressions of contrition, and to im 
plore pardon. 

The kingdom of Sardinia was at this time the most power- 
ful State in Italy, if we except those united Italian States 
which now composed an integral part of the Austrian empire 
Victor Asmedeus, the energetic king, had a small but vigor- 



CHAELES VI. 369 

ous army, and held himself ready, with this army, for a suit 
able remuneration, to engage in the service of any sovereign, 
without asking any troublesome questions as to the righteous- 
ness of the expedition in which he was to serve. The Sar- 
dinian king was growing rich, and consequently ambitious. 
He wished to rise from the rank of a secondary to that of a 
primary power in Europe. There was but one direction in 
which he could hope to extend his territories, and that was by 
pressing into Lombardy. He had made the remark, which 
was repeated to the emperor, "I must acquire Lombardy 
piece by piece, as I eat an artichoke." Charles, consequently, 
watched Victor with a suspicious eye. 

The four great powers of middle and southern Europe 
were Austria, England, France, and Spain. All the other 
minor States, innumerable in name as well as number, were 
compelled to take refuge, openly or secretly, beneath one or 
another of these great monarchies. 

In France, the Duke of Orleans, the regent during the mi- 
nority of Louis XV., whose court, in the enormous expendi- 
tures of vice, exhausted the yearly earnings of a population of 
twenty millions, was anxious to unite the Bourbon branches of 
France and Spain in more intimate alliance. He accordingly 
affianced the young sovereign of France to Mary Anne, daugh- 
ter of Philip V. of Spain. At the same time he married his 
own daughter to the king's oldest son, the Prince of Asturias, 
who was heir to the throne. Mary Anne, to whom the young 
king was affianced, was only four years of age. 

The personal history of the monarchs of Europe is, almost 
without exception, a melancholy history. By their ambition, 
and their wars they whelmed the cottages in misery, and by a 
righteous retribution misery also inundated the palace. PhUip 
V. became the victim of the most insupportable melancholy. 
Earth had no joy which could lift the cloud of gloom from his 
soul. For months he was never known to smile. Imprisoning 
himself ir his palace he refused to see any company, and left 

16* 



370 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

all the cares of government in the hands of his wife, Elizabeth 
Farnese. 

Germany was still agitated by the great religious contest 
between the Catholics and the Protestants, which divided the 
empire into two nearly equal parties, bitterly hostile to each 
other. Various fruitless attempts had been made to bring the 
parties together, into unity of faith, by compromise. Neither 
party were reconciled to cordial toleration, free and full, in 
which alone harmony can be obtained. In all the States of 
the empire the Catholics and the Protestants were coming con- 
tinually into collision. Charles, though a very decided Catho- 
lic, was not disposed to persecute the Protestants, as most of 
his predecessors had done, for he feared to rouse them to 
despair. 

England, France, Austria and Spain, were now involved in 
an inextricable maze of diplomacy. Congresses were assem- 
bled and dissolved ; treaties made and violated ; alliances 
formed and broken. Weary of the conflict of arms, they were 
engaged in the more harmless squabbles of intrigue, each seek- 
ing its own aggrandizement. Philip V., who had fought so 
many bloody battles to acquire the crown of Spain, now, dis- 
gusted with the cares which that crown involved, overwhelmed 
with melancholy, and trembling in view of the final judgment 
of God, suddenly abdicated the throne in favor of his son 
Louis, and took a solemn oath that he would never resume it 
again. This event, which surprised Europe, took place on the 
10th of February, 1724. Philip retired to St. Ildefonso. 

The celebrated palace of St. Ildefonso, which became the 
retreat of the monarch, was about forty miles north of Ma- 
drid, in an elevated ravine among the mountains of Gaudar- 
ruma. It was an enormous pile, nearly four thousand feet 
above the level of the sea, and reared by the Spanish mon- 
archs at an expense exceeding thirty millions of dollars. The 
palace, two stories high, and occupying three sides of a square, 
presents a front five hundred and thirty feet in length. In 



CHARLES VI. 371 

this front alone there are, upon each story, twelve gorgeous 
apartments in a suite. The interior is decorated in the richest 
style of art, with frescoed ceilings, and splendid mirrors, and 
tesselated floors of variegated marble. The furniture was em- 
bellished with gorgeous carvings, and enriched with marble, 
jasper and verd-antique. The galleries were filled with the 
most costly productions of the chisel and the pencil. The 
spacious garden, spread out before the palace, was cultivated 
with the utmost care, and ornamented with fountains surpass- 
ing even those of Versailles. 

To this magnificent retreat Philip V. retired with his im- 
perious, ambitious wife. She was the step-mother of his son 
who had succeeded to the throne. For a long time, by the 
vigor of her mind, she had dominated over her husband, and 
had in reality been the sovereign of Spain. In the magnificent 
palace of St. Ildefonso, she was by no means inclined to relin- 
quish her power. Gathering a brilliant court around her, she 
still issued her decrees, and exerted a powerful influence over 
the kingdom. The young Louis, who was but a boy, was not 
disposed to engage in a quarrel with his mother, and for a 
time submitted to this interference ; but gradually he was 
roused by his adherents, to emancipate himself from these 
shackles, and to assume the authority of a soveregn. This 
led to very serious trouble. The abdicated king, in his mop- 
ing melancholy, was entirely in subjection to his wife. There 
were now two rival courts. Parties were organizing. Some 
were for deposing the son ; others for imprisoning the father. 
The kingdom was on the eve of a civil war, when death kindly 
came to settle the difficulty. 

The young King Louis, but eighteen years of age, after a 
nominal reign of but eight months, was seized with that awful 
scourge the small-pox, and, after a few days of suffering and 
delirium, was consigned to the tomb. Philip, notwithstand- 
ing his vow, was constrained by his wife to resume the crown, 
she probably promising to relieve him of all care. Such are 



372 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

the vicissitudes of a hereditary government. Elizabeth, with 
woman's spirit, now commanded the emperor to renounce the 
title of King of Spain, which he still claimed. Charles, with 
the spirit of an emperor, declared that he would do no such 
thing. 

There was another serious source of difficulty between the 
two monarchs, which has descended, generation after genera- 
tion, to our own time, and to this day is only settled by each 
party quietly persisting in his own claim. 

In the year 1430 Philip III., Duke of Burgundy, instituted 
a new order of knighthood for the protection of the Catholic 
church, to be called the order of the Golden Fleece. But 
twenty-four members were to be admitted, and Philip himself 
was the grand master. Annual meetings were held to fill va- 
cancies. Charles V., as grand master, increased the number 
of knights to fifty-one. After his death, as the Burgundian 
provinces and the Netherlands passed under the dominion of 
Spain, the Spanish monarchs exercised the office of grand mas- 
ter, and conferred the dignity, which was now regarded the 
highest order of knighthood in Europe, according to their 
pleasure. But Charles VL, now in admitted possession of the 
Netherlands, by virtue of that possession claimed the office 
of grand master of the Golden Fleece. Philip also claimed it 
as the inheritance of the kings of Spain. The dispute has 
never been settled. Both parties still claim it, and the order 
is still conferred both at Vienna and Madrid. 

Other powers interfered, in the endeavor to promote rec- 
onciliation between the hostile courts, but, as usual, only in- 
creased the acrimony of the two parties. The young Spanish 
princess Mary Anne, who was affianced to the Dauphin of 
France, was sent to Paris for her education, and that she 
might become familiar with the etiquette of a court over which 
she was to preside as queen. For a time she was treated with 
great attention, and child as she was, received all the homage 
which the courtiers were accustomed to pay to the Queen of 



CHARLES VI. 373 

France. But amidst the intrigues of the times a change 
arose, and it was deemed a matter of state policy to marry 
the boy-king to another princess. The French court conse- 
quently rejected Maria Anne and sent her back to Spain, and 
married Louis, then but fifteen years of age, to Maria Lebrin- 
sky, daughter of the King of Poland. The rejected child was 
too young fully to appreciate the mortification. Her parents, 
however, felt the insult most keenly. The whole Spanish court 
was roused to resent it as a national outrage. The queen was 
so indignant that she tore from her arm a bracelet which she 
wore, containing a portrait of Louis XV., and dashing it upon 
the floor, trampled it beneath her feet. Even the king was 
roused from his gloom by the humiliation of his child, and 
declared that no amount of blood could atone for such an in- 
dignity. 

Under the influence of this exasperation, the queen re- 
solved to seek reconciliation with Austria, that all friendly 
relations might be abandoned with France, and that Spain and 
Austria might be brought into intimate alliance to operate 
against their common foe. A renowned Spanish diplomatist, 
the Baron of Ripperda, had been for some time a secret agent 
of the queen at the court of Vienna, watching the progress of 
events there. He resided in the suburbs under a fictitious 
name, and eluding the vigilance of the ministry, had held by 
night several secret interviews with the emperor, proposing to 
him, in the name of the queen, plans of reconciliation. Let- 
ters were immediately dispatched to Ripperda urging him to 
come to an accommodation with the emperor upon almost any 
terms. 

A treaty was soon concluded, early in the spring of 1725. 
The emperor renounced all claim to the Spanish crown, en- 
tered into an alliance, both offensive and defensive, with Philip, 
and promised to aid, both with men and money, to help re- 
cover Gibi altar from the English, which fortress they had held 
since they seized upon it in the war of the Spanish succession. 



374 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

In consideration of these great concessions Philip agreed to 
recognize the right of the emperor to the Netherlands and to 
his acquisitions in Italy. He opened all the ports of Spain to 
the subjects of the emperor, and pledged himself to support 
the Pragmatic Sanction, which wrested the crown of Austria 
from the daughters of Joseph, and transmitted it to the daugh- 
ters of Charles. It was this last clause which influenced the 
emperor, for his whole heart was set upon the accomplishment 
of this important result, and he was willing to make almost 
any sacrifice to attain it. There were also some secret articles 
attached which have never been divulged. 

The immediate demand of Spain for the surrender of the 
rock of Gibraltar was the signal for all Europe to marshal it- 
self for war — a war which threatened the destruction of hun- 
dreds of thousands of lives, millions of property, and which 
was sure to spread far and wide over populous cities and ex- 
tended provinces, carnage, conflagration, and unspeakable 
woe. The question was, whether England or Spain should 
have possession of a rock seven miles long and one mile broad, 
which was supposed, but very erroneously, to command the 
Mediterranean. To the rest of Europe it was hardly a mat- 
ter of the slightest moment whether the flag of England or 
Spain waved over those granite cliffs. It seems incredible 
that beings endowed with reason could be guilty of such mad- 
ness. 

England, with great vigor, immediately rallied on her side 
France, Hanover, Holland, Denmark and Sweden. On the 
other side were Spain, Austria, Russia, Prussia and a large 
number of the minor States of Germany. Many months were 
occupied in consolidating these coalitions, and in raising the 
armies and gathering the materials for the war. 

In the meantime Ripperda, having so successfully, as he sup- 
posed, concluded his negotiations at Vienna, in a high state of 
exultation commenced his journey back to Spain. Passing 
down through the Tyrol and traversing Italy he embarked at 



CHARLES VI. 375 

Genoa and landed at Barcelona. Here he boasted loudly of 
what he had accomplished. 

" Spain and the emperor now united," he said, " will give 
the law to Europe. The emperor has one hundred and fifty- 
thousand troops under arms, and in six months can bring as 
many more into the field. France shall be pillaged. George I. 
shall be driven both from his German and his British territo- 
ries." 

From Barcelona Ripperda traveled rapidly to Madrid, 
where he was received with almost regal honors by the queen, 
who was now in reality the sovereign. She immediately ap- 
pointed him Secretary of State, and transferred to him the 
reins of government which she had taken from the unresisting 
hands of her moping husband. Thus Ripperda became, in all 
but title, the King of Spain. He w T as a weak man, of just 
those traits of character which would make him a haughty 
woman's favorite. He was so elated with this success, became 
so insufferably vain, and assumed such imperious airs as to dis- 
gust all parties. He made the most extravagant promises of 
the subsidies the emperor was to furnish, and of the powers 
which w T ere to combine to trample England and France be- 
neath their feet. It was soon seen that these promises were 
merely the vain-glorious boasts of his own heated brain. Even 
the imperial ambassador at Madrid was so repelled by his ar- 
rogance, that he avoided as far as possible all social and even 
diplomatic intercourse with him. There was a general com- 
bination of the courtiers to crush the favorite. The queen, 
who, with all her ambition, had a good share of sagacity, soon 
saw the mistake she had made, and in four months after Rip- 
perda's return to Madrid, he was dismissed in disgrace. 

A general storm of contempt and indignation pursued the 
discarded minister. His rage was now inflamed as much as his 
vanity had been. Fearful of arrest and imprisonment, and 
I turning with that spirit of revenge which is ever strongest in 
weakest minds, he took refuge in the house of the British am- 



376 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

bassador, Mr. Stanhope. Hostilities had not yet cc mmenced. 
Indeed there had been no declaration of war, and diplomatic 
relations still continued undisturbed. Each party was acting 
secretly, and watching the movements of the other with a 
jealous eye. 

Ripperda sought protection beneath the flag of England, 
and with the characteristic ignominy of deserters and traitors, 
endeavored to ingratiate himself with his new friends by dis- 
closing all the secrets of his negotiations at Vienna. Under 
these circumstances full confidence can not be placed in his 
declarations, for he had already proved himself to be quite un- 
scrupulous in regard to truth. The indignant queen sent an 
armed force, arrested the duke in the house of the British am- 
bassador, and sent him, in close imprisonment, to the castle of 
Segovia. He, however, soon escaped from there and fled to 
England, where he reiterated his declarations respecting the 
secret articles of the treaty of Vienna. The most important 
of these declarations was, that Spain and the emperor had 
agreed to drive George I. from England and to place the 
Pretender, who had still many adherents, upon the British 
throne. It was also asserted that marriage contracts were en- 
tered into which, by uniting the daughters of the emperor with 
the sons of the Spanish monarch, would eventually place the 
crowns of Austria and Spain upon the same brow. The thought 
of such a vast accumulation of power in the hands of any one 
monarch, alarmed all the rest of Europe. "Roth Spain and the 
emperor denied many of the statements made by Ripperda. 
But as truth has not been esteemed a diplomatic virtue, and 
as both Ripperda and the sovereigns he had served were equal- 
ly tempted to falsehood, and were equally destitute of any 
character for truth, it is not easy to decide which party to be- 
lieve. 

England and France took occasion, through these disclo- 
sures, to rouse the alarm of Europe. So much apprehension 
was excited in Prussia, Bavaria, and with other princes of the 



CHARLES VI. 377 

empire, who were appalled at the thought of having another 
Spanish prince upon the imperial throne, that the emperor 
sent ambassadors to these courts to appease their anxiety, and 
issued a public declaration denying that any such marriages 
were in contemplation ; while at the same time he was prom- 
ising the Queen of Spain these marriages, to secure her sup- 
port. England and France accuse the emperor of deliberate, 
persistent, unblushing falsehood. 

The emperor seems now to have become involved in an 
inextricable maze of prevarication and duplicity, striving in 
one court to accomplish purposes which in other courts he was 
denying that he wished to accomplish. His embarrassment 
at length became so great, the greater part of Europe being 
roused and jealous, that he was compelled to abandon Spain, 
and reluctantly to sign a treaty of amity with France and En- 
gland. A general armistice was agreed upon for seven years. 
The King of Spain, thus abandoned by the emperor, was also 
compelled to smother his indignation and to roll back his artil- 
lery into the arsenals. Thus this black cloud of war, which 
threatened all Europe with desolation, was apparently dispelled. 
This treaty, which seemed to restore peace to Europe, was 
signed in June, 1727. It was, however, a hollow peace. The 
spirit of ambition and aggression animated every court ; and 
each one was ready, in defiance of treaties and in defiance of 
the misery of the world, again to unsheath the sword as soon 
as any opportunity should offer for the increase of territory 
or power. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

CHARLES VI. AND THE POLISH WAR. 
From 1727 to 1735. 

Cardinal Fleury. — The Emperor of Austria urges the Pragmatic Sanction. — 
He promises his two Daughters to the two Sons of the Queen of Spain. — 
France, England and Spain unite against Austria. — Charles VI. issues Or- 
ders TO PREPARE FOR WAR. — HlS PERPLEXITIE6.— SECRET 0VERTURE8 TO EN- 
GLAND. — The Crown of Poland.--Meeting of the Polish Congress. — Stanis- 
laus goes to Poland. — Augustus III. crowned. — War. — Charles sends an 
Army to Lombardy. — Difficulties of Prince Eugene.— Charles's Displeas- 
ure with England. — Letter to Count Kinsky. — Hostilities renewed. 

THE young King of France, Louis XV., from amidst the 
orgies of his court which rivaled Babylon in corruption, 
was now seventeen years of age, and was beginning to shake 
off the trammels of guardianship and to take some ambitious 
part in government. The infamous regent, the Duke of Or- 
leans, died suddenly of apoplexy in 1723. Gradually the king's 
preceptor, Fleury, obtained the entire ascendency over the 
mind of his pupil, and became the chief director of affairs. 
He saw the policy of reuniting the Bourbons of France and 
Spain for the support of each other. The policy was conse- 
quently adopted of cultivating friendly relations between the 
two kingdoms. Cardinal Fleury was much disposed to thwart 
the plans of the emperor. A congress of the leading powers 
had been assembled at Soissons in June, 1728, to settle some 
diplomatic questions. The favorite object of the emperor now 
was, to obtain from the European powers the formal guarantee 
to support his decree of succession which conveyed the crown 
of Austria to his daughters, in preference to those of his brother 
Joseph. 



CHARLES VI. AND THE POLISH WAR. 379 

The emperor urged the Pragmatic Sanction strongly upon 
the congress, as the basis upon which he would enter into 
friendly relations with all the powers. Fleury opposed it, and 
with such influence over the other plenipotentiaries as to se- 
cure its rejection. The emperor was much irritated, and inti- 
mated war. France and England retorted defiance. Spain 
was becoming alienated from the emperor, who had abandoned 
her cause, and was again entering into alliance with France. 
The emperor had promised his eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, 
to Carlos, son of the Queen of Spain, and a second daughter 
to the next son, Philip. These were as brilliant matches as an 
ambitious mother could desire. But while the emperor was 
making secret and solemn promises to the Queen of Spain, that 
these marriages should be consummated, which would secure 
to the son of the queen the Austrian, as well as the Spanish 
crown, he was declaring to the courts of Europe that he had 
no such plans in contemplation. 

The Spanish queen, at length, annoyed, and goaded on by 
France and England, sent an ambassador to Vienna, and de- 
manded of the emperor a written promise that Maria Theresa 
was to be the bride of Carlos. The emperor was now brought 
to the end of his intrigues. He had been careful heretofore 
to give only verbal promises, through his ministers. After his 
reiterated public denials that any such alliance was anticipated, 
he did not dare commit himself by giving the required docu- 
ment. An apologetic, equivocal answer was returned which 
so roused the ire of the queen, that, breaking off from Austria, 
she at once entered into a treaty of cordial union with En- 
gland and France. 

It will readily be seen that all these wars and intrigues 
had but little reference to the welfare of the masses of the 
people. They were hardly more thought of than the cattle 
and the poultry. The only purpose they served was, by uninter- 
mitted toil, to raise the wealth which supported the castle and 
the palace, und to march to the field to fight battles, in which 



380 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

they had no earthly interest. The written history of Europe 
is only the history of kings and nobles — their ambitions, in- 
trigues and war. The unwritten history of the dumb, toil- 
ing millions, defrauded of their rights, doomed to poverty and 
ignorance, is only recorded in the book of God's remembrance. 
"When that page shall be read, every ear that hears it will 
tingle. 

The frail connection between Austria and Spain was now ter- 
minated. England, France and Spain entered into an alliance 
to make vigorous war against Charles VI. if he manifested any 
hostility to any of the articles of the treaty into which they 
had entered. The Queen of Spain, in her spite, forbade the 
subjects of the emperor froin trading at all with Spain, and 
granted to her new allies the exclusive right to the Spanish 
trade. She went so far in her reconciliation with England as 
to assure the king that he was quite welcome to retain the 
rock of Gibraltar which he held with so tenacious a grasp. 

In this treaty, with studied neglect, even the name of the 
emperor was not mentioned; and yet the allies, as if to pro- 
voke a quarrel, sent Charles VI. a copy, peremptorily de- 
manding assent to the treaty without his having taken any 
part whatever in the negotiation. 

This insulting demand fell like a bomb-shell in the palace 
at Vienna. Emperor, ministers, courtiers, all were aroused to 
a frenzy of indignation. " So insulting a message," said Count 
Zinzendorf, " is unparalleled, even in the annals of savages." 
The emperor condescended to make no reply, but very spirit- 
edly issued orders to all parts of the empire, for his troops to 
hold themselves in readiness for war. 

And yet Charles was overwhelmed with anxiety, and was 
almost in despair. It was a terrible humiliation for the em- 
peror to be compelled to submit, unavenged, to such an insult. 
But how could the emperor alone, venture to meet in battle 
England, France, Spain and all the other powers whom three 
such kingdoms could, either by persuasion or compulsion, 



CHAELES VI. AND THE POLISH WAR. 381 

bring into their alliance ? He plead with his natural allies. 
Russia had not been insulted, and was unwilling to engage in 
so distant a war. Prussia had no hope of gaining any thing, 
and declined the contest. Sardinia sent a polite message to 
the emperor that it was more for her interest to enter into 
an alliance with her nearer neighbors, France, Spain and En- 
gland, and that she had accordingly done so. The treasury of 
Charles was exhausted ; his States were impoverished by con- 
stant and desolating wars. And his troops manifested but 
little zeal to enter the field against so fearful a superiority of 
force. The emperor, tortured almost beyond endurance by 
chagrin, was yet compelled to submit. 

The allies were quite willing to provoke a war with the 
emperor ; but as he received their insults so meekly, and 
made no movement against them, they were rather disposed 
to march against him. Spain wanted Parma and Tuscany, 
but France was not willing to have Spain make so great an 
accession to her Italian power. France wished to extend her 
area north, through the States of the Netherlands. But 
England was unwilling to see the French power thus aggran- 
dized. England had her aspirations, to which both France 
and Spain were opposed. Thus the allies operated as a check 
upon each other. 

The emperor found some little consolation in this growing 
disunion, and did all in his power to foment it. Wishing to 
humble the Bourbons of France and Spain, he made secret 
overtures to England. The offers of the emperor were of 
such a nature, that England eagerly accepted them, returned 
to friendly relations with the emperor, and, to his extreme joy, 
pledged herself to support the Pragmatic Sanction. 

It seems to have been the great object of the emperor's 
life to secure the crown of Austria for his daughters. It was 
an exceedingly disgraceful act. There was no single respect- 
able reason to be brought forward why his daughters should 
crowd from the throne the daughters of his elder deceased 



382 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

brother, the Emperor Joseph. Charles was so aware of the 
gross injustice of the deed, and that the ordinary integrity of 
humanity would rise against him, that he felt the necessity of 
exhausting all the arts of diplomacy to secure for his daughters 
the pledged support of the surrounding thrones. He had 
now by intrigues of many years obtained the guarantee of the 
Pragmatic Sanction from Russia, Prussia, Holland, Spain and 
England. France still refused her pledge, as did also many 
of the minor States of the empire. The emperor, encouraged 
by the success he had thus far met with, pushed his efforts 
with renewed vigor, and in January, 1732, exulted that he 
had gained the guarantee of the Pragmatic Sanction from all 
the Germanic body, with the exception of Bavaria, Palatine 
and Saxony. 

And now a new difficulty arose to embroil Europe in trou- 
ble. When Charles XII., like a thunderbolt of war, burst 
upon Poland, he drove Augustus II. from the throne, and 
placed upon it Stanislaus Leezinski, a Polish noble, whom he 
had picked up by the way, and whose heroic character se- 
cured the admiration of this semi-insane monarch. Augus- 
tus, utterly crushed, was compelled by his eccentric victor to 
send the crown jewels and the archives, with a letter of con- 
gratulation, to Stanislaus. This was in the year 1706. Three 
years after this, in 1709, Charles XII. suffered a memorable 
defeat at Pultowa. Augustus II., then at the head of an 
army, regained his kingdom, and Stanislaus fled in disguise. 
After numerous adventures and fearful afflictions, the court 
of France offered him a retreat in Wissembourg in Alsace. 
Here the ex-king remained for six years, when his beautiful 
daughter Mary was selected to take the place of the rejected 
Mary of Spain, as the wife of the young dauphin, Louis XV. 

In the year 1733 Augustus II. died. In anticipation of this 
event Austria had been very busy, hoping to secure the elect- 
ive crown of Poland for the son of Augustus who had inher- 
ited his father's name, and who had promised to support the 



CHARLES VI. AND THE POLISH WAR. 383 

Pragmatic Sanction. France was equally busy in the endeavor 
to place the scepter of Poland in the hand of Stanislaus, father 
of the queen. From the time of the marriage of his daughter 
with Louis XV., Stanislaus received a handsome pension from 
the French treasury, maintained a court of regal splendor, and 
received all the honors due to a sovereign. All the energies 
of the French court were now aroused to secure the crown for 
Stanislaus. Russia, Prussia and Austria were in natural sym- 
pathy. They wished to secure the alliance of Poland, and 
were also both anxious to destroy the republican principle of 
electing rulers, and to introduce hereditary descent of the crown 
in all the kingdoms of Europe. But an election by the nobles 
was now indispensable, and the rival powers were, with all the 
arts known in courts, pushing the claims of their several can- 
didates. It was an important question, for upon it depended 
whether warlike Poland was to be the ally of the Austrian or 
of the French party. Poland was also becoming quite repub- 
lican in its tendencies, and had adopted a constitution which 
greatly limited the power of the crown. Augustus would be 
but a tool in the hands of Russia, Prussia and Austria, and 
would cooperate with them in crushing the spirit of liberty in 
Poland. These three great northern powers became so roused 
upon the subject, that they put their troops in motion, threat- 
ening to exclude Stanislaus by force. 

This language of menace and display of arms roused France. 
The king, while inundating Poland with agents, and lavishing 
the treasure of France in bribes to secure the election of Stan- 
islaus, assumed an air of virtuous indignation in view of the 
interference of the Austrian party, and declared that no for- 
eign power should interfere in any way with the freedom of 
the election. This led the emperor to issue a counter-memo- 
rial inveighing against the intermeddling of France. 

In the midst of these turmoils the congress of Polish nobles 
met to choose their king. It was immediately apparent that 
there was s, very powerful party organized in favor of Stanis- 



384 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

laus. The emperor was for marching directly into the king- 
dom with an army which he had already assembled in Silesia 
for this purpose, and with the bayonet make up for any de- 
ficiency which his party might want in votes. Though Prus- 
sia demurred, he put his troops in motion, and the imperial and 
Russian ambassadors at Warsaw informed the marshal of the 
diet that Catharine, who was now Empress of Russia, and 
Charles, had decided to exclude Stanislaus from Poland by 
force. 

These threats produced their natural effect upon the bold 
warrior barons of Poland. Exasperated rather than intimi- 
dated, they assembled, many thousands in number, on the 
great plain of Wola, but a few miles from Warsaw, and with 
great unanimity chose Stanislaus their king. This was the 
12th of September, 1733. Stanislaus, anticipating the result, 
had left France in disguise, accompanied by a single attend- 
ant, to undertake the bold enterprise of traversing the heart 
of Germany, eluding all the vigilance of the emperor, and of 
entering Poland notwithstanding all the efforts of Austria, 
Russia and Prussia to keep him away. It was a very hazard- 
ous adventure, for his arrest would have proved his ruin. 
Though he encountered innumerable dangers, with marvelous 
sagacity and heroism he succeeded, and reached Warsaw on 
the 9th of September, just three days before the election. In 
regal splendor he rode, as soon as informed of his election, to 
the tented field where the nobles were convened. He was re- 
ceived with the clashing of weapons, the explosions of artil- 
lery, and the acclamations of thousands. 

But the Poles were not sufficiently enlightened fully to 
comprehend the virtue and the sacredness of the ballot-box. 
The Russian army was now hastening to the gates of War- 
saw. The small minority of Polish nobles opposed to the elec- 
tion of Stanislaus seceded from the diet, mounted their horses, 
crossed the Vistula, and joined the invading army to make war 
upon the sovereign whom the majority had chosen. The ret- 



CHARLES VI. AND THE POLISH WAR. 385 

ribution for such folly and wickedness has come. There is no 
longer any Poland. They who despise the authority of the 
ballot-box inevitably usher in the bayonets of despotism. Un- 
der the protection of this army the minority held another diet 
at Kamien (on the 5th of October), a village just outside the 
suburbs of Warsaw, and chose as the sovereign of Poland Au- 
gustus, son of the deceased king. The minority, aided by the 
Russian and imperial armies, were too strong for the majority. 
They took possession of Warsaw, and crowned their candidate 
king, with the title of Augustus III. Stanislaus, pressed by an 
overpowering force, retreated to Dantzic, at the mouth of the 
Vistula, about two hundred miles from Warsaw. Here he 
was surrounded by the Russian troops and held in close siege, 
while Augustus III. took possession of Poland. France could 
do nothing. A weary march of more than a thousand miles 
separated Paris from Warsaw, and the French troops would 
be compelled to fight their way through the very heart of the 
German empire, and at the end of the journey to meet the 
united armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Poland under her 
king, now in possession of all the fortresses. 

Though Louis XV. could make no effectual resistance, it 
was not in human nature but that he should seek revenue. 
When shepherds quarrel, they kill each other's flocks. When 
kings quarrel, they kill the poor peasants in each other's terri- 
tories, and burn their homes. France succeeded in enlisting 
in her behalf Spain and Sardinia. Austria and Russia were 
upon the other side. Prussia, jealous of the emperor's great- 
ness, declined any active participation. Most of the other 
powers of Europe also remained neutral. France had now no 
hope of placing Stanislaus upon the throne; she only sought 
revenge, determined to humble the house of Austria. The 
mercenary King of Sardinia, Charles Emanuel, was willing to 
serve the one who would pay the most. He first offered him- 
self to the emperor, but upon terms too exorbitant to be ac- 
cepted. France and Spain immediately offered him terms even 

17 



386 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

more advantageous than those he had demanded of the empe- 
ror. The contract was settled, and the Sardinian army marched 
into the allied camp. 

The King of Sardinia, who was as ready to employ guile 
as force in warfare, so thoroughly deceived the emperor as to 
Jead him to believe that he had accepted the emperor's terms, 
and that Sardinia was to be allied with Austria, even when the 
whole contract was settled with France and Spain, and the 
plan of the campaign was matured. So utterly was the em- 
peror deluded by a fraud so contemptible, in the view of every 
honorable mind, that he sent great convoys of grain, and a 
large supply of shot, shells and artillery from the arsenals of 
Milan into the Sardinian camp. Charles Emanuel, dead to all 
sense of magnanimity, rubbed his hands with delight in the 
successful perpetration of such fraud, exclaiming, "A?i virtus 
an dolos, quis db hoste reqitirat." 

So cunningly was this stratagem carried on, that the em- 
peror was not undeceived until his own artillery, which he had 
sent to Charles Emanuel, were thundering at the gates of the 
city of Milan, and the shot and shells which he had so unsus- 
pectingly furnished were mowing down the imperial troops. 
So sudden was the attack, so unprepared was Austrian Lom- 
bardy to meet it, that in twelve weeks the Sardinian troops 
overran the whole territory, seized every city and magazine, 
with all their treasures, leaving the fortress of Mantua alone 
in the possession of the imperial troops. It was the policy of 
Louis XV. to attack Austria in the remote portions of her widely- 
extended dominions, and to cut off province by province. He 
also made special and successful efforts to detach the interests 
of the German empire from those of Austria, so that the 
princes of the empire might claim neutrality. It was against 
the possessions of Charles VI., not against the independent 
States of the empire, that Louis XV. urged war. 

The storms of winter were now at hand, and both parties 
were compelled to abandon the field until spring. But during 



CHARLES VI. AND THE POLISH WAE. 387 

the winter every nerve was strained by the combatants in 
preparation for the strife which the returning sun would in- 
troduce. The emperor established strong defenses along the 
banks of the Rhine to prevent the passage of the French ; he 
also sent agents to all the princes of the empire to enlist them 
in his cause, and succeeded, notwithstanding the remonstrances 
of many who claimed neutrality, in obtaining a vote from a 
diet which he assembled, for a large sum of money, and for an 
army of one hundred and twenty thousand men. 

The loss of Lombardy troubled Charles exceedingly, for it 
threatened the loss of all his Italian possessions. Notwith- 
standing the severity of the winter he sent to Mantua all the 
troops he could raise from his hereditary domains ; and or- 
dered every possible effort to be made to be prepared to un- 
dertake the offensive in the spring, and to drive the Sardinians 
from Lombardy. In the beginning of May the emperor had 
assembled within and around Mantua, sixty thousand men, 
under the command of Count Merci. The hostile forces soon 
met, and battle after battle thundered over the Italian plains. 
On the 29th of June the two armies encountered each other 
in the vicinity of Parma, in such numbers as to give promise 
of a decisive battle. For ten hours the demoniac storm raged 
unintermitted. Ten thousand of the dead covered the ground. 
Neither party had taken a single standard or a single prisoner, 
an event almost unparalleled in the history of battles. From 
the utter exhaustion of both parties the strife ceased. The 
Sardinians and French, mangled and bleeding, retired within 
the walls of Parma. The Austrians, equally bruised and bloody, 
having lost their leader, retired to Reggio. Three hundred and 
forty of the Austrian officers were either killed or wounded. 

The King of Sardinia was absent during this engagement, 
having gone to Turin to visit his wife, who was sick. The 
morning after the battle, however, he joined the army, and 
succeeded in cutting off an Austrian division of twelve hun- 
dred men, whom he took prisoners. Both parties now waited 



388 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

for a time to heal their wounds, repair their shattered weap 
ons, get rested and receive reinforcements. Ten thousand pool 
peasants, who had not the slightest interest in the quarrel, had 
now met with a bloody death, and other thousands were now 
to be brought forward and offered as victims on this altar of 
kingly ambition. By the middle of July they were again pre- 
pared to take the field. Both parties struggled with almost 
superhuman energies in the work of mutual destruction ; vil- 
lages were burned, cities stormed, fields crimsoned with blood 
and strewn with the slain, while no decisive advantage was 
gained. In the desperation of the strife the hostile battalions 
were hurled against each other until the beginning of January. 
They waded morasses, slept in drenching storms, and were 
swept by freezing blasts. Sickness entered the camp, and was 
even more fatal than the bullet of the foe. Thousands moaned 
and died in their misery, upon pallets of straw, where no sis- 
ter, wife or mother could soothe the dying anguish. Another 
winter only afforded the combatants opportunity to nurse 
their strength that they might deal still heavier blows in 
another campaign. 

While the imperial troops were struggling against Sar- 
dinia and France on the plains of Lombardy, a Spanish squad- 
ron landed a strong military force of French and Spaniards 
upon the peninsula of southern Italy, and meeting with no 
force sufficiently powerful to oppose them, speedily overran 
Naples and Sicily. The Spanish troops silenced the forts which 
defended the city of Naples, and taking the garrison prisoners, 
entered the metropolis in triumphal array, greeted by the ac- 
clamations of the populace, who hated the Austrians. After 
many battles, in which thousands were slain, the Austrians were 
driven out of all the Neapolitan States, and Carlos, the oldest 
6on of Philip V. of Spain, was crowned King of Naples, with 
the title of Charles III. The island of Sicily Avas speedily sub- 
jugated and also attached to the Neapolitan crown. 

These losses the emperor fe.t most keenly. Upon the 



CHARLES VI. AND THE POLISH WAR. 389 

Rhine he had made great preparations, strengthening fortresses 
and collecting troops, which he placed under the command of 
his veteran general, Prince Eugene. He was quite sanguine 
that here he would be abundantly able to repel the assaults of 
his foes. But here again he was doomed to bitter disappoint- 
ment. The emperor found a vast disproportion between prom- 
ise and performance. The diet had voted him one hundred 
and twenty thousand troops ; they furnished twelve thousand. 
They voted abundant supplies ; they furnished almost none 
at all. 

The campaign opened the 9th of April, 1734, the French 
crossing the Rhine near Truerbuch, in three strong columns, 
notwithstanding all the efforts of the Austrians to resist them. 
Prince Eugene, by birth a Frenchman, reluctantly assumed 
the command. He had remonstrated with the emperor against 
any forcible interference in the Polish election, assuring him 
that he would thus expose himself, almost without allies, to all 
the power of France. Eugene did not hesitate openly to ex- 
press his disapprobation of the war. " I can take no interest 
in this war," he said ; " the question at issue is not important 
enough to authorize the death of a chicken." 

Eugene, upon his arrival from Vienna, at the Austrian 
camp, found but twenty-five thousand men. They were com- 
posed of a motley assemblage from different States, undisci- 
plined, unaccustomed to act together and with no confidence 
in each other. The commanders of the various corps were 
quarreling for the precedence in rank, and there was no unity 
or subordination in the army. They were retreating before 
the French, who, in numbers, in discipline, and in the materiel 
of war, were vastly in the superiority. Eugene saw at once 
that it would be folly to risk a battle, and that all he could 
hope to accomplish was to throw such embarrassments as he 
might in the path of the victors. 

The young officers, ignorant, impetuous and reckless, were 
for giving battle, which would inevitably have resulted in the 



390 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

destruction of the army. They were so vexed by the wise cau 
tion of Eugene, which they regarded as pusillauimity, that they 
complained to the emperor that the veteran general was in his 
dotage, that he was broken both in body and mind, and quite 
unfit to command the army. These representations induced 
the emperor to send a spy to watch the conduct of Eugene. 
Though deeply wounded by these suspicions, the experienced 
general could not be provoked to hazard an engagement. He 
retreated from post to post, merely checking the progress of 
the enemy, till the campaign was over, and the ice and snow of 
a German winter drove all to winter quarters. 

While recruiting for the campaign of 1735, Prince Eugene 
wrote a series of most earnest letters to his confidential agent 
in London, which letters were laid before George II., urging 
England to come to the help of the emperor in his great ex- 
tremity. Though George was eager to put the fleet and army 
of England in motion, the British cabinet wisely refused to 
plunge the nation into war for such a cause, and the emperor 
was left to reap the bitter fruit of his despotism and folly. 
The emperor endeavored to frighten England by saying that 
he was reduced to such an extremity that if the British cabi- 
net did not give him aid, he should be compelled to seek peace 
by giving his daughter, with Austria in her hand as her dow- 
ry, to Carlos, now King of Naples and heir apparent to the 
crown of Spain. He well knew that to prevent such an acqui- 
sition of power on the part of the Spanish monarch, who was 
also in intimate alliance with France, England would be ready 
to expend any amount of blood and treasure. 

Charles VI. waited with great impatience to see the result 
of this menace, hardly doubting that it would bring England 
immediately to terms. Bitter was his disappointment and his 
despair when he received from the court of St. James the calm 
reply, that England could not possibly take a part in this war, 
and that in view of the great embarrassments in which the 
emperor was involved, England would take no offense in case 



CHARLES VI. AND THE POLISH WAR. 391 

of the marriage of the emperor's second daughter to Carlos. 
England then advised the emperor to make peace by surren- 
dering the Netherlands. 

The emperor was now greatly enraged, and inveighed bit- 
terly against England as guilty of the grossest perfidy. He 
declared that England had been as deeply interested as he was 
in excluding Stanislaus from the throne of Poland ; that it was 
more important for England than for Austria to curb the ex- 
horbitant power of France ; that in every step he had taken 
against Stanislaus, he had consulted England, and had acted 
in accordance with her counsel ; that England was reaping the 
benefit of having the father-in-law of the French king expelled 
from the Polish throne ; that England had solemnly promised 
to support him in these measures, and now having derived 
all the advantage, basely abandoned him. There were bitter 
charges, and it has never been denied that they were mainly 
true. The emperor, in his indignation, threatened to tell the 
whole story to the people of England. It is strange that the 
emperor had found out that there were people in England. In 
no other part of Europe was there any thing but nobles and 
peasants. 

In this extraordinary letter, addressed to Count Kinsky, 
the imperial ambassador in London, the emperor wrote : 

" On the death of Augustas II., King of Poland, my first 
care was to communicate to the King of England the princi- 
ples on which I acted. I followed, in every instance, his ad- 
vice. * * * England has never failed to give me promises, 
both before and since the commencement of the war, but in- 
stead of fulfilling those promises, she has even favored my 
enemies. * * * Let the king know that I never will consent 
to the plan of pacification now in agitation ; that I had rather 
suffer the worst of extremities than accede to such disadvan- 
tageous proposals, and that even if I should not be able to 
prevent them, I will justify my honor and my dignity, by pub- 
lishing a circumstantial account of all the transaction, together 



392 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

with all the documents which I have now in possession. * * * 
If these representations fail, means must be taken to publish 
and circulate throughout England our answer to the proposal 
of good offices which was not made till after the expiration 
of nine months. Should the court of London proceed so far 
as to make such propositions of peace as are supposed to be in 
agitation, you will not delay a moment to circulate throughout 
England a memorial, containing a recapitulation of all negoti- 
ations which have taken place since 1710, together with the 
authentic documents, detailing my just complaints, and re- 
claiming, in the most solemn manner, the execution of the 
guaranties." 

One more effort the emperor made, and it was indeed a 
desperate one. He dispatched a secret agent, an English Ro- 
man Catholic, by the name of Strickland, to London, to en- 
deavor to overthrow the ministry and bring in a cabinet in 
favor of him. In this, of course, he failed entirely. Nothing 
now remained for him but to submit, with the best grace he 
could, to the terms exacted by his foes. In the general pacifi- 
cation great interests were at stake, and all the leading pow- 
ers of Europe demanded a voice in the proceedings. For 
many months the negotiations were protracted. England and 
France became involved in an angry dispute. Each power 
was endeavoring to grasp all it could, while at the same time 
it was striving to check the rapacity of every other power. 
There was a general armistice while these negotiations were 
pending. It was, however, found exceedingly difficult to rec- 
oncile all conflicting interests. New parties were formed ; 
new combinations entered into, and all parties began to aim 
for a renewal of the strife. England, exasperated against 
France, in menace made an imposing display of her fleet and 
navy. The emperor was delighted, and, trusting to gain new 
allies, exerted his skill of diplomacy to involve the contract- 
ing parties in confusion and discord. 

Thus encouraged, the emperor refused to accede to the 



CHAELES VI. AND THE POLISH WAR. 393 

terms demanded. He was required to give up the Nether- 
lands, and all his foreign possessions, and to retire to his hered- 
itary dominions. " What a severe sentence," exclaimed Count 
Zinzendorf, the emperor's ambassador, "have you passed on 
the emperor. No malefactor was ever carried with so hard a 
doom to the gibbet." 

The armies again took the field. Eugene, again, though 
with great reluctance, assumed the command of the imperial 
forces. France had assembled one hundred thousand men 
upon the Rhine. Eugene had but thirty thousand men to 
meet them. He assured the emperor that with such a force 
he could not successfully carry on the war. Jealous of his 
reputation, he said, sadly, " to find myself in the same condi- 
tion as last year, will be only exposing myself to the censure 
of the world, which judges by appearancs, as if I were less 
capable, in my old age, to support the reputation of my former 
successes." With consummate generalship, this small force 
held the whole French army in check. 

17* 



CHAPTER XXV. 

CHARLES VI. AND THE TURKISH WAR RENEWED. 

From 1735 to 1739. 

Anxiety of Austrian Office-holders. — Maria Theresa. — The Duke of Lorraine. — 
Distraction of the Emperor. — Tuscany assigned to the Duke of Lorraine. — 
Death of Eugene. — Eising Greatness of Eussia. — New War with the Turks. 
— Condition of the Army. — Commencement of Hostilities. — Capture of Nissa. 
— Inefficient Campaign. — Disgrace of Seckendorf. — The Duke of Lorraine 
placed in Command. — Siege of Orsova.— Belgrade besieged by the Turks. — 
The third Campaign.— Battle of Crotzka.— Defeat of the Austrians.— Con- 
sternation in Vienna. — Barbarism of the Turks.— The Surrender of Bel- 
grade. 

THE emperor being quite unable, either on the Rhine or in 
Italy, successfully to compete with his foes, received blow 
after blow, which exceedingly disheartened him. His affairs 
were in a desperate condition, and, to add to his grief, dis- 
sensions filled his cabinet ; his counsellors mutually accusing 
each other of being the cause of the impending ruin. The 
Italian possessions of the emperor had been thronged with 
Austrian nobles, filling all the posts of office and of honor, and 
receiving rich salaries. A change of administration, in the 
transference of these States to the dominion .of Spain and 
Sardinia, " reformed" all these Austrian office-holders out of 
their places, and conferred these posts upon Spaniards and 
Sardinians. The ejected Austrian nobles crowded the court 
of the emperor, with the most passionate importunities that 
he would enter into a separate accommodation with Spain, 
and secure the restoration of the Italian provinces by giving 
his eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, to the Spanish prince, 
Carlos. This would seem to be a very simple arrangement, 



CHARLES VI. 395 

especially since the Queen of Spain so earnestly desired this 
match, that she was willing to make almost any sacrifice for 
its accomplishment. But there was an inseparable obstacle in 
the way of any such arrangement. 

Maria Theresa had just attained her eighteenth year. She 
was a young lady of extraordinary force of character, and 
of an imperial spirit ; and she had not the slightest idea of 
having her person disposed of as a mere make-weight in the 
diplomacy of Europe. She knew that the crown of Austria 
was soon to be hers ; she understood the weakness of her 
father, and was well aware that she was far more capable of 
wearing that crown than he had ever been ; and she was al- 
ready far more disposed to take the reins of government from 
her father's hand, than she was to submit herself to his con- 
trol. With such a character, and such anticipations, she had 
become passionately attached to the young Duke of Lorraine, 
who was eight years her senior, and who had for some years 
been one of the most brilliant ornaments of her father's court. 

The duchy of Lorraine was one of the most extensive and 
>pulent of the minor States of the German empire. Admira- 
bly situated upon the Rhine and the Meuse, and extending to 
the sea, it embraced over ten thousand square miles, and 
contained a population of over a million and a half. The 
duke, Francis Stephen, was the heir of an illustrious line, 
whose lineage could be traced for many centuries. Germany, 
Fiance and Spain, united, had not sufficient power to induce 
Maria Theresa to reject Francis Stephen, the grandson of her 
father's sister, the playmate of her childhood, and now her 
devoted lover, heroic and fascinating, for the Spanish Carlos, of 
whom she knew little, and for whom she cared less. Ambition 
also powerfully operated on the very peculiar mind of Maria 
Theresa. She had much of the exacting spirit of Elizabeth, 
England's maiden queen, and was emulous of supremacy which 
no one would share. She, in her own right, was to inherit 
the crown of Austria, and Francis Stephen, high-born and 



396 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

noble as he was, and her recognized husband, would still be 
her subject. She could confer upon him dignity and power, 
retaining a supremacy which even he could never reach. 

The emperor was fully aware of the attachment of his 
daughter to Francis, of her inflexible character ; and even 
when pretending to negotiate for her marriage with Carlos, 
he was conscious that it was all a mere pretense, and that the 
union could never be effected. The British minister at Vienna 
saw very clearly the true state of affairs, and when the emperor 
was endeavoring to intimidate England by the menace that he 
would unite the crowns of Spain and Austria by uniting Maria 
and Carlos, the minister wrote to his home government as 
follows : 

" Maria Theresa is a princess of the highest spirit ; her 
father's losses are her own. She reasons already ; she enters 
into affairs ; she admires his virtues, but condemns his mis- 
management ; and is of a temper so formed for rule and am- 
bition, as to look upon him as little more than her adminis- 
trator. Notwithstanding this lofty humor by day, she sighs 
and pines all night for her Duke of Lorraine. If she sleeps, 
it is only to clream of him ; if she wakes, it is but to talk of 
him to the lady in waiting ; so that there is no more prob- 
ability of her forgetting the very individual government, and 
the very individual husband which she thinks herself born to, 
than of her forgiving the authors of her losing either," 

The empress was cordially cooperating with her daughter. 
The emperor was in a state of utter distraction. His affairs 
were fast going to ruin ; he was harassed by counter intreat- 
ies ; he knew not which way to turn, or what to do. Insup- 
portable gloom oppressed his spirit. Pale and haggard, he 
wandered through the rooms of his palace, the image of woe. 
At night he tossed sleepless upon his bed, moaning in anguish 
which he then did not attempt to conceal, and giving free 
utterance to all the mental tortures which were goading him 
to madness. The queen became seriously alarmed lest his 



CHAELES VI. 397 

reason should break down beneath such a weight of woe. It 
was clear that neither reason nor life could long withstand 
such a struggle. 

Thus in despair, the emperor made proposals for a secret and 
separate accommodation with France. Louis XV. promptly 
listened, and offered terms, appallingly definite, and cruel 
enough to extort the last drop of blood from the emperor's 
sinking heart. " Give me," said the French king, " the duchy 
of Lorraine, and I will withdraw my armies, and leave Austria 
to make the best terms she can with Spain." 

How could the emperor wrest from his prospective son-in- 
law his magnificent ancestral inheritance ? The duke could 
not hold his realms for an hour against the armies of France, 
should the emperor consent to their surrender ; and conscious 
of the desperation to which the emperor was driven, and of 
his helplessness, he was himself plunged into the deepest 
dismay and anguish. He held an interview with the British 
minister to see if it were not possible that England might in- 
terpose her aid in his behalf. In frantic grief he lost his self 
control, and, throwing himself into a chair, pressed his brow 
convulsively, and exclaimed, " Great God ! will not England 
help me ? Has not his majesty with his own lips, over and 
over again, promised to stand by me ?" 

The French armies were advancing ; shot and shell were 
falling upon village and city ; fortress after fortress was sur- 
rendering. " Give me Lorraine," repeated Louis XV., per- 
sistently, " or I will take all Austria." There was no alterna- 
tive but for the emperor to drink to the dregs the bitter cup 
which his own hand had mingled. He surrendered Lorraine 
to France. He, however, succeeded in obtaining some slight 
compensation for the defrauded duke. The French court al- 
lowed him a pension of ninety thousand dollars a year, until 
the death of the aged Duke of Tuscany, who was the last of 
the Medici line, promising that then Tuscany, one of the most 
important duchies of central Italy, should pass into the hands 



398 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

of Francis. Should Sardinia offer any opposition, the King 
of France promised to unite with the emperor in maintaining 
Francis in his possession by force of arms. Peace was thus 
obtained with France. Peace was then made with Spain and 
Sardinia, by surrendering to Spain Naples and Sicily, and to 
Sardinia most of the other Austrian provinces in Italy. Thus 
scourged and despoiled, the emperor, a humbled, woe-stricken 
man, retreated to the seclusion of his palace. 

While these affairs were in progress, Francis Stephen de- 
rived very considerable solace by his marriage with Maria 
Theresa. Their nuptials took place at Vienna on the 12th of 
February, 1736. The emperor made the consent of the duke 
to the cession of Lorraine to France, -a condition of the mar- 
riage. As the duke struggled against the surrender of his pa- 
ternal domains, Cartenstein, the emperor's confidential minis- 
ter, insultingly said to him, " Monseigneur, point de cession, 
point d'archiduchesse." My lord, no cession, no archduchess. 
Fortunately for Francis, in about a year after his marriage 
the Duke of Tuscany died, and Francis, with his bride, has- 
tened to his new home in the palaces of Leghorn. Though the 
duke mourned bitterly over the loss of his ancestral domains, 
Tuscany was no mean inheritance. The duke was absolute 
monarch of the duchy, which contained about eight thousand 
square miles and a population of a million. The revenues of 
the archduchy were some four millions of dollars. The army 
consisted of six thousand troops. 

Two months after the marriage of Maria Theresa, Prince 
Eugene died quietly in his bed at the age of seventy-three. 
He had passed his whole lifetime riding over fields of battle 
swept by bullets and plowed by shot. He had always ex- 
posed his own person with utter recklessness, leading the 
charge, and being the first to enter the breach or climb the 
rampart. Though often wounded, he escaped all these perils, 
and breathed his last in peace upon his pillow in Vienna. 

His funeral was attended with regal honors. For three 



CHARLES VI. 399 

days the corpse lay in state, with the coat of mail, the helmet 
and the gauntlets which the warrior had worn in so many 
fierce battles, suspended over his lifeless remains. His heart 
was sent in an urn to be deposited in the royal tomb where 
his ancestors slumbered. His embalmed body was interred in 
the metropolitan church in Vienna. The emperor and all the 
court attended the funeral, and his remains were borne to the 
grave with honors rarely conferred upon any but crowned 
heads. 

The Ottoman power had now passed its culminating point, 
and was evidently on the wane. The Russian empire was be- 
ginning to arrest the attention of Europe, and was ambitious 
of making its voice heard in the diplomacy of the European 
monarchies. Being destitute of any sea coast, it was excluded 
from all commercial intercourse with foreign nations, and in 
its cold, northern realm, "leaning," as Napoleon once said, 
" against the North Pole," seemed to be shut up to barbarism. 
It had been a leading object of the ambition of Peter the Great 
to secure a maritime port for his kingdom. He at first at- 
tempted a naval depot on his extreme southern border, at the 
mouth of the Don, on the sea of Azof. This would open to 
him the commerce of the Mediterranean through the Azof, the 
Euxine and the Marmora. But the assailing Turks drove him 
from these shores, and he was compelled to surrender the for- 
tresses he had commenced to their arms. He then turned to 
his western frontier, and, with an incredible expenditure of 
money and sacrifice of life, reared upon the marshes of the 
Baltic the imperial city of St. Petersburg. Peter I. died in 
1725, leaving the crown to his wife Catharine. She, however, 
survived him but two years, when she died, in 1727, leaving 
two daughters. The crown then passed to the grandson of 
Peter I., a boy of thirteen. In three years he died of the 
small-pox. Anna, the daughter of the oldest brother of Pe- 
ter I., now ascended the throne, and reigned, through her 
favorites, with relentless rigor. 



400 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

It was one of the first objects of Anna's ambition to secure 
a harboi for maritime commerce in the more sunny climes of 
southern Europe. St. Petersburg, far away upon the frozen 
shores of the Baltic, where the harbor was shut up with ice 
for five months in the year, presented but a cheerless prospect 
for the formation of a merchant marine. She accordingly re- 
vived the original project of Peter the Great, and waged war 
with the Turks to recover the lost province on the shores of 
the Euxine. Russia had been mainly instrumental in placing 
Augustus II. on the throne of Poland ; Anna was consequently 
sure of his sympathy and cooperation. She also sent to Aus- 
tria to secure the alliance of the emperor. Charles VI., though 
his army was in a state of decay and his treasury empty, ea- 
gerly embarked in the enterprise. He was in a continued state 
of apprehension from the threatened invasion of the Turks. 
He hoped also, aided by the powerful arm of Russia, to be 
able to gain territories in the east which would afford some 
compensation for his enormous losses in the south and in the 
west. 

While negotiations were pending, the Russian armies were 
already on the march. They took Azof after a siege of but a 
fortnight, and then overran and took possession of the whole 
Crimea, driving the Turks before them. Charles VI. was a 
very scrupulous Roman Catholic, and was animated to the 
strife by the declaration of his confessor that it was his duty, 
as a Christian prince, to aid in -extirpating the enemies of the 
Church of Christ. The Turks were greatly alarmed by these 
successes of the Russians, and by the formidable preparations 
of the other powers allied against them. 

The emperor hoped that fortune, so long adverse, was now 
turning in his favor. He collected a large force on the fron- 
tiers of Turkey, and intrusted the command to General Seck- 
endorf. The general hastened into Hungary to the rendezvous 
of the troops. He found the army in a deplorable condition. 
The treasury being exhausted, they were but poorly supplied 



THE TURKISH WAR RENEWED. 401 

with the necessaries of war, and the generals and contractors 
had contrived to appropriate to themselves most of the funds 
which had been furnished. The general wrote to the emperor, 
presenting a lamentable picture of the destitution of the army. 

" I can not," he said, " consistently with my duty to God 
and the emperor, conceal the miserable condition of the bar- 
racks and the hospitals. The troops, crowded together with- 
out sufficient bedding to cover them, are a prey to innumerable 
disorders, and are exposed to the rain, and other inclemencies 
of the weather, from the dilapidated state of the caserns, the 
roofs of which are in perpetual danger of being overthrown by 
the wind. All the frontier fortresses, and even Belgrade, are 
incapable of the smallest resistance, as well from the dilapidated 
state of the fortifications as from a total want of artillery, am- 
munition and other requisites. The naval armament is in a 
state of irreparable disorder. Some companies of my regiment 
of Belgrade are thrust into holes where a man would not put 
even his favorite hounds ; and I can not see the situation of 
these miserable and half-starved wretches without tears. These 
melancholy circumstances portend the loss of these fine king- 
doms with the same rapidity as that of the States of Italy." 

The bold commander-in-chief also declared that many of 
the generals were so utterly incapable of discharging their du- 
ties, that nothing could be anticipated, under their guidance, 
but defeat and ruin. He complained that the governors of 
those distant provinces, quite neglecting the responsibilities of 
their offices, were spending their time in hunting and other 
trivial amusements. These remonstrances roused the emperor, 
and decisive reforms were undertaken. The main plan of the 
campaign was for the Russians, who were already on the shores 
of the Black sea, to press on to the mouth of the Danube, and 
then to march up the stream. The Austrians were to follow 
down the Danube to the Turkish province of Wallachia, and 
then, marching through the heart of that province, either 
effect a junction with the Russians, or inclose the Turks bo- 



402 THE HOUSE OP AUSTEIA. 

tween the two armies. At the same time a large Austrian 
force, marching through Bosnia and Servia, and driving the 
Turks out, were to take military possession of those countries 
and join the main army in its union on the lower Danube. 

Matters being thus arranged, General Seckendorf took the 
command of the Austrian troops, with the assurance that he 
should be furnished with one hundred and twenty-six thou- 
sand men, provided with all the implements of war, and that 
he should receive a monthly remittance of one million two 
hundred thousand dollars for the pay of the troops. The em- 
peror, however, found it much easier to make promises than 
to fulfill them. The month of August had already arrived 
and Seckendorf, notwithstanding his most strenuous exertions, 
had assembled at Belgrade but thirty thousand infantry and fif- 
teen thousand cavalry. The Turks, with extraordinary energy, 
had raised a much more formidable and a better equipped army. 
Just as Seckendorf was commencing his march, having mi 
nutely arranged all the stages of the campaign, to his surprise 
and indignation he received orders to leave the valley of the 
Danube and march directly south about one hundred and fifty 
miles into the heart of Servia, and lay siege to the fortress of 
Nissa. The whole plan of the campaign was thus frustrated. 
Magazines, at great expense, had been established, and arrange- 
ments made for floating the heavy baggage down the stream. 
~Now the troops were to march through morasses and over 
mountains, without suitable baggage wagons, and with no 
means of supplying themselves with provisions in so hostile 
and inhospitable a country. 

But the command of the emperor was not to be disobeyed. 
For twenty-eight days they toiled along, encountering innu- 
merable impediments, many perishing by the way, until they 
arrived, in a state of extreme exhaustion and destitution, be- 
fore the walls of Nissa. Fortunately the city was entirely un- 
prepared for an attack, which had not been at all anticipated, 
aud the garrison speedily surrendered. Here Seckendorf, hav- 



THE TURKISH WAR RENEWED. 403 

ing dispatched parties to seize the neighboring fortress, and 
the passes of the mountains, waited for further orders from 
Vienna. The army were so dissatisfied with their position and 
their hardships, that they at last almost rose in mutiny, and 
Seckendorf, having accomplished nothing of any moment, was 
compelled to retrace his steps to the banks of the Danube, 
where he arrived on the 16th of October. Thus the campaign 
was a total failure. 

Bitter complaints were uttered both by the army and the 
nation. The emperor, with the characteristic injustice of an 
ignoble mind, attributed the unfortunate campaign to the inca- 
pacity of Seckendorf, whose judicious plans he had so ruth- 
lessly thwarted. The heroic general was immediately dis- 
graced and recalled, and the command of the army given to 
General Philippi. The friends of General Seckendorf, aware 
of his peril, urged him to seek safety in flight. But he, em- 
boldened by conscious innocence, obeyed the imperial com- 
mands and repaired to Vienna. Seckendorf was a Protestant. 
His appointment to the supreme command gave great offense 
to the Catholics, and the priests, from their pulpits, inveighed 
loudly against him as a heretic, whom God could not bless. 
They arraigned his appointment as impious, and declared that, 
in consequence, nothing was to be expected but divine indigna- 
tion. Immediately upon his arrival in Vienna the emperor 
ordered his arrest. A strong guard was placed over him, in 
his own house, and articles of impeachment were drawn up 
against him. His doom was sealed. Every misadventure was 
attributed to negligence, cupidity or treachery. He could 
offer no defense which would be of any avail, for he was not 
permitted to exhibit the orders he had received from the em- 
peror, lest the emperor himself should be proved guilty of 
those disasters which he was thus dishonorably endeavoring 
to throw upon another. The unhappy Seckendorf, thus made 
the victim of the faults of others, was condemned to the dun- 
geon. He was sent to imprisonment in the castle of Glatz, 



404 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

where he lingered in captivity for many years until the death 
of the emperor. 

Charles now, in accordance with the clamor of the priests, 
removed all Protestants from command in the army and sup- 
plied their places with Catholics. The Duke of Lorraine, who 
had recently married Maria Theresa, was appointed generalis- 
simo. But as the duke was young, inexperienced in war, and, 
as yet, had displayed none of that peculiar talent requisite for 
the guidance of armies, the emperor placed next to him, as 
the acting commander, Marshal Konigsegg. The emperor 
also gave orders that every important movement should be 
directed by a council of war, and that in case of a tie the cast- 
ing vote should be given, not by the Duke of Lorraine, but by 
the veteran commander Konigsegg. The duke was an exceed- 
ingly amiable man, of very courtly manners and winning ad- 
dress. He was scholarly in his tastes, and not at all fond of 
the hardships of war, with its exposure, fatigue and butchery. 
Though a man of perhaps more than ordinary intellectual 
power, he was easily depressed by adversity, and not calcu- 
lated to brave the fierce storms of disaster. 

Early in March the Turks opened the campaign by send- 
ing an army of twenty thousand men to besiege Orsova, an 
important fortress on an island of the Danube, about one hun- 
dred miles below Belgrade. They planted their batteries upon 
both the northern and the southern banks of the Danube, and 
opened a storm of shot and shell upon the fortress. The Duke 
of Lorraine hastened to the relief of the important post, which 
quite commanded that portion of the stream. The imperial 
troops pressed on until they arrived within a few miles of the 
fortress. The Turks marched to meet them, and plunged into 
their camp with great fierceness. After a short but desperate 
conflict, the Turks were repulsed, and retreating in a panic, 
they broke up their camp before the walls of Orsova and 
retired. 

This slight success, after so many disasters, caused im- 



THE TURKISH WAR RENEWED. 405 

mense exultation. The Duke of Lorraine was lauded as one 
of the greatest generals of the age. The pulpits rang with 
his praises, and it was announced that now, that the troops 
were placed under a true child of. the Church, Providence 
might be expected to smile. Soon, however, the imperial 
army, while incautiously passing through a defile, was as- 
sailed by a strong force of the Turks, and compelled to re- 
treat, having lost three thousand men. The Turks resumed 
the siege of Orsova; and the Duke of Lorraine, quite dis- 
heartened, returned to Vienna, leaving the command of the 
army to Konigsegg. The Turks soon captured the fortress, 
and then, ascending the river, drove the imperial troops before 
them to Belgrade. The Turks invested the city, and the 
beleaguered troops were rapidly swept away by famine and 
pestilence. The imperial cavalry, crossing the Save, rapidly 
continued their retreat. Konigsegg was now recalled in dis- 
grace, as incapable of conducting the war, and the command 
was given to General Kevenhuller. He was equally unsuc- 
cessful in resisting the foe ; and, after a series of indecisive 
battles, the storms of November drove both parties to winter 
quarters, and another campaign was finished. The Russians 
had also fought some fierce battles ; but their campaign was 
as ineffective as that of the Austrians. 

The court of Vienna was now in a state of utter confusion. 
There was no leading mind to assume any authority, and there 
was irremediable discordance of counsel. The Duke of Lor- 
raine was in hopeless disgrace; even the emperor assenting to 
the universal cry against him. In a state almost of distrac- 
tion the emperor exclaimed, " Is the fortune of my empire 
departed with Eugene ?" The disgraceful retreat to Belgrade 
seemed to haunt him day and night ; and he repeated again 
and again to himself, as he paced the floor of his apartment, 
" that unfortunate, that fatal retreat." Disasters had been so 
rapidly accumulating upon him, that he feared for every thing. 
He expressed the greatest anxiety lest his daughter, Maria 



406 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Theresa, who was to succeed him upon the throne, might be 
intercepted, in the case of his sudden death, from returning 
to Austria, and excluded from the throne. The emperor was 
in a state of mind nearly bordering. upon insanity. 

At length the sun of another spring returned, the spring 
of 1739, and the recruited armies were prepared again to take 
the field. The emperor placed a new commander, Marshal 
Wallis, in command of the Austrian troops. He was a man 
of ability, but overbearing and morose, being described by a 
contemporary as one who hated everybody, and who was 
hated by everybody in return. Fifty miles north of Bel- 
grade, on the south bank of the Danube, is the fortified town 
of Peter ward ein, so called as the rendezvous where Peter the 
Hermit marshaled the soldiers of the first crusade. This for- 
tress had long been esteemed one of the strongest of the 
Austrian empire. It was appointed as the rendezvous of the 
imperial troops, and all the energies of the now exhausted 
empire were expended in gathering there as large a force as 
possible. But, notwithstanding the utmost efforts, in May 
but thirty thousand men were assembled, and these but very 
poorly provided with the costly necessaries of war. Another 
auxiliary force of ten thousand men was collected at Temes- 
war, a strong fortress twenty-five miles north of Peterwardein. 
With these forces Wallis was making preparations to attempt 
to recover Orsova from the Turks, when he received positive 
orders to engage the enemy with his whole force on the first 
opportunity. 

The army marched down the banks of the river, convey- 
ing its baggage and heavy artillery in a flotilla to Belgrade, 
where it arrived on the 11th of June Here they were in- 
formed that the Turkish army was about twenty miles bolow 
on the river at Crotzka. The imperial army was immediately 
pressed forward, in accordance with the emperor's orders, to 
attack the foe. The Turks were strongly posted, and far 
exceeded the Austrians in number. At five o'clock on the 



THE TURKISH WAR RENEWED. 407 

morning of the 21st of July the battle commenced, and blazed 
fiercely through all the hours of the day until the sun went 
down. Seven thousand Austrians were then dead upon the 
plain. The Turks were preparing to renew the conflict in the 
morning, when Wallis ordered a retreat, which was securely 
effected during the darkness of the night. On the ensuing 
day the Turks pursued them to the walls of Belgrade, and, 
driving them across the river, opened the fire of their bat- 
teries upon the city. The Turks commenced the siege in 
form, and were so powerful, that Wallis could do nothing to 
retard their operations. A breach was ere long made in one 
of the bastions ; an assault was hourly expected which the 
garrison was in no condition to repel. Wallis sent word to 
the emperor that the surrender of Belgrade was inevitable ; 
that it was necessary immediately to retreat to Peterwardein, 
and that the Turks, flushed with victory, might soon be at 
the gates of Vienna. 

Great was the consternation which pervaded the court and 
the capital upon the reception of these tidings. The ministers 
all began to criminate each other. The general voice clamored 
for peace upon almost any terms. The emperor alone re- 
mained firm. He dispatched another officer, General Schmet- 
tan, to hasten with all expedition to the imperial camp, and 
prevent, if possible, the impending disaster. He earnestly 
pressed the hand of the general as he took his leave, and said — 

" Use the utmost diligence to arrive before the retreat of 
the army ; assume the defense of Belgrade, and save it, if not 
too late, from falling into the hands of the enemy." 

The energy of Schmettan arrested the retreat of Wallis, 
and revived the desponding hopes of the garrison of Belgrade. 
Bastion after bastion was recovered. The Turks were driven 
back from the advance posts they had occupied. A new spirit 
animated the whole Austrian army, and from the depths of 
despair they were rising to sanguine hopes of victory, when 
the stunning news arrived that the emperor had sent an envoy 



408 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

to the Turkish camp, and had obtained peace by the surrender 
of Belgrade. Count Neuperg having received full powers 
from the emperor to treat, very imprudently entered the 
camp of the barbaric Turk, without requiring any hostages for 
his safety. The barbarians, regardless of the flag of truce, and 
of all the rules of civilized warfare, arrested Count Neuperg, 
and put him under guard. He was then conducted into the 
presence of the grand vizier, who was arrayed in state, sur- 
rounded by his bashaws. The grand vizier haughtily de- 
manded the terms Neuperg was authorized to offer. 

" The emperor, my master," said Neuperg, " has intrusted 
me with full powers to negotiate a peace, and is willing, for 
the sake of peace, to cede the province of Wallachia to Tur- 
key provided the fortress of Orsova be dismantled." 

The grand vizier rose, came forward, and deliberately spit 
in the face of the Count Neuperg, and exclaimed, 

" Infidel dog ! thou provest thyself a spy, with all thy 
powers. Since thou hast brought no letter from the Vizier 
Wallis, and hast concealed his offer to surrender Belgrade, 
thou shalt be sent to Constantinople to receive the punishment 
thou deservest." 

Count Neuperg, after this insult, was conducted into close 
confinement. The French ambassador, Villeneuve, now ar- 
rived. He had adopted the precaution of obtaining hostages 
before intrusting himself in the hands of the Turks. The 
grand vizier would not listen to any terms of accommodation 
but upon the basis of the surrender of Belgrade. The Turks 
carried their point in every thing. The emperor surrendered 
Belgrade, relinquished to them Orsova, agreed to demolish all 
the fortresses of his own province of Media, and ceded to Tur- 
key Servia and various other contiguous districts. It was a 
humiliating treaty for Austria. Already despoiled in Italy and 
on the Rhine, the emperor was now compelled to abandon to 
the Turks extensive territories and important fortresses upon 
the lower Danube. 



THE TURKISH WAR RENEWED. 409 

General Schmettan, totally unconscious of these proceed- 
ings, was conducting the defense of Belgrade with great vigor 
and with great success, when he was astounded by the arrival 
of a courier in his camp, presenting to him the following laconic 
note from Count Neuperg : 

" Peace was signed this morning between the emperor, 
our master, and the Porte. Let hostilities cease, therefore, on 
the receipt of this. In half an hour I shall follow, and an- 
nounce the particulars myself." 

General Schmettan could hardly repress his indignation, 
and, when Count Neuperg arrived, intreated that the surren- 
der of Belgrade might be postponed until the terms had been 
sent to the emperor for his ratification. But Neuperg would 
listen to no such suggestions, and, indignant that any obstacle 
should be thrown in the way of the fulfillment of the treaty, 
menacingly said, 

" If you choose to disobey the orders of the emperor, and 
to delay the execution of the article relative to Belgrade, I 
w T ill instantly dispatch a courier to Vienna, and charge you 
with all the misfortunes which may result. I had great diffi- 
culty in diverting the grand vizier from the demand of Sirmia, 
Sclavonia and the bannat of Temeswar ; and when I have dis- 
patched a courier, I will return into the Turkish camp and 
protest against this violation of the treaty." 

General Schmettan was compelled to yield. Eight hun- 
dred janissaries took possession of one of the gates of the 
city ; and the Turkish officers rode triumphantly into the 
streets, waving before them in defiance the banners they had 
taken at Crotzka. The new fortifications were blown up, and 
the imperial army, in grief and shame, retired up the river to 
Peterwardein. They had hardly evacuated the city ere Count 
Neuperg, to his inexpressible mortification, received a lettei 
from the emperor stating that nothing could reconcile him to 
the idea of surrendering Belgrade but the conviction that its 
defense was utterly hopeless ; but that learning that this was 

18 



410 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

by no means the case, he intreated him on no account to think 
of the surrender of the city. To add to the chagrin of the 
count, he also ascertained, at the same time, that the Turks 
were in such a deplorable condition that they were just on the 
point of retreating, and would gladly have purchased peace at 
almost any sacrifice. A little more diplomatic skill might have 
wrested from the Turks even a larger extent of territory than 
the emperor had so foolishly surrendered to them. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

MARIA THERESA. 
From H39 to 1741. 



Anguish of the King. — Letter to the Queen op Russia. — The imperial Cirottlae. 
— Deplorable Condition of Austria. — Death of Charles VI. — Accession of 
Maria Theresa. — Vigorous Measures of the Queen.— Claim of the Duke of 
Bavaria. — Responses from the Courts. — Coldness of the French Court. — Fred- 
eric of Prussia. — His Invasion of Silesia. — March of the Austrians. — Battle 
of Molnitz. — Firmness of Maria Theresa.— Proposed Division of Plunder.— 
Villainy of Frederic. — Interview with the King.— Character of Frederic- 
Commencement of the general Invasion. 



EVERY intelligent man in Austria felt degraded by the 
peace which had been made with the Turks. The tid- 
ings were received throughout the ranks of the army with a 
general outburst of grief and indignation. The troops intreated 
their officers to lead them against the foe, declaring that they 
would speedily drive the Turks from Belgrade, which had 
been so ignominiously surrendered. The populace of Vienna 
rose in insurrection, and would have torn down the houses of 
the ministers who had recommended the peace but for the in- 
terposition of the military. The emperor was almost beside 
himself with anguish. He could not appease the clamors of 
the nation. He was also in alliance with Russia, and knew not 
how to meet the reproaches of the court of St. Petersburg for 
having so needlessly surrendered the most important fortress 
on the Turkish frontier. In an interview which he held with 
the Russian ambassador his embarrassment was painful to wit- 
ness. To the Queen of Russia he wrote in terms expressive 
of the extreme agony of his mind, and, with characteristic 
want of magnanimity cast the blame of the very measures ho 



412 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA, 

had ordered upon the agents who had merely executed hia 
will. 

" While I am writing this letter," he said, " to your im- 
perial majesty, my heart is filled with the most excessive grief. 
I was much less touched with the advantages gained by the 
enemy and the news of the siege of Belgrade, than with the 
advice I have received concerning the shameful preliminary 
articles concluded by Count Neuperg. 

" The history of past ages exhibits no vestiges of such an 
event. I was on the point of preventing the fatal and too 
hasty execution of these preliminaries, when I heard that they 
were already partly executed, even before the design had been 
communicated to me. Thus I see my hands tied by those who 
ought to glory in obeying me. All who have approached me 
since that fatal day, are so many witnesses of the excess of 
my grief. Although I have many times experienced adver- 
sity, I never was so much afflicted as by this event. Your 
majesty has a right to complain of some who ought to have 
obeyed my orders ; but I had no part in what they have done. 
Though all the forces of the Ottoman empire were turned 
against me I was not disheartened, but still did all in my power 
for the common cause. I shall not, however, fail to perform 
in due time what avenging justice requires. In this dismal 
series of misfortunes I have still one comfort left, which is that 
the fault can not be thrown upon me. It lies entirely on such 
of my officers as ratified the disgraceful preliminaries without 
my knowledge, against my consent, and even contrary to my 
express orders." 

This apologetic letter was followed by a circular to all the 
imperial ambassadors in the various courts of Europe, which 
circular was filled with the bitterest denunciation of Count 
Neuperg and Marshal Wallis. It declared that the emperor 
was not in any way implicated in the shameful surrender of 
Belgrade. The marshal and the count, thus assailed and held 
up to the scorn and execration of Europe, ventured to replv 



MARIA THERESA. 413 

that they had strictly conformed to their instructions. The 
common sense of the community taught them that, in so rigor- 
ous and punctilious a court as that of Vienna, no agent of the 
emperor would dare to act contrary to his received instruc- 
tions. Thus the infamous attempts of Charles to brand his 
officers with ignominy did but rebound upon himself. The 
almost universal voice condemned the emperor and acquitted 
the plenipotentiaries. 

While the emperor was thus filling all the courts of Europe 
with his clamor against Count Neuperg, declaring that he had 
exceeded his powers and that he deserved to be hung, he at 
the same time, with almost idiotic fatuity, sent the same Count 
Neuperg back to the Turkish camp to settle some items which 
yet required adjustment. This proved, to every mind, the in- 
sincerity of Charles. The Russians, thus forsaken by Austria, 
also made peace with the Turks. They consented to demolish 
their fortress of Azof, to relinquish all pretensions to the right 
of navigating the Black sea, and to allow a vast extent of ter- 
ritory upon its northern shores to remain an uninhabited des- 
ert, as a barrier between Russia and Turkey, The treaty 
being definitively settled, both Marshal Wallis and Count 
ISTeuperg were arrested and sent to prison, where they were 
detained until the death of Charles VI. 

Care and sorrow were now hurrying the emperor to the 
grave. Wan and haggard he moved about his palace, mourn- 
ing his doom, and complaining that it was his destiny to be 
disappointed in every cherished plan of his life. All his affairs 
were in inextricable confusion, and his empire seemed crumb- 
ling to decay. A cotemporary writer thus describes the situa- 
tion of the court and the nation : 

" Every thing in this court is running into the last confu- 
sion and ruin ; where there are as visible signs of folly and 
madness, as ever were inflicted upon a people whom Heaven 
is determined to destroy, no less by domestic divisions, than by 
the more public calamities of repeated defeats, defenselessness, 
poverty and plagues." 



414 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

Early in October, 1740, the emperor, restless, and feverish 
in body and mind, repaired to one of his country palaces a few 
miles distant from Vienna. The season was prematurely cold 
and gloomy, with frost and storms of sleet. In consequence 
of a chill the enfeebled monarch was seized with an attack of 
the gout, which was followed by a very severe fit of the colic. 
The night of the 10th of October he writhed in pain upon his 
bed, while repeated vomitings weakened his already exhausted 
frame. The next day he was conveyed to Vienna, but in such 
extreme debility that he fainted several times in his carriage 
by the way. Almost in a state of insensibility he was carried 
to the retired palace of La Favourite in the vicinity of Vienna, 
and placed in his bed. It was soon evident that his stormy 
life was now drawing near to its close. Patiently he bore his 
severe sufferings, and as his physicians were unable to agree 
respecting the nature of his disease, he said to them, calmly, 

"Cease your disputes. I shall soon be dead. You can 
then open my body and ascertain the cause of my death." 

Priests were admitted to his chamber who performed the 
last offices of the Church for the dying. With perfect com- 
posure, he made all the arrangements relative to the succession 
to the throne. One after another the members of his family 
were introduced, and he affectionately bade them adieu, giv- 
ing to each appropriate words of counsel. To his daughter, 
Maria Theresa, who was not present, and who was to succeed 
him, he sent his earnest blessing. With the Duke of Lorraine, 
her husband, he had a private interview of two hours. On 
the 20th of October, 1740, at two o'clock in the morning, he 
died, in the fifty-sixth year of his age, and the thirtieth of his 
reign. Weary of the world, he willingly retired to the antici> 
pated repose of the grave. ■ 

" To die, — to sleep ; — 
To sleep ! perchance to dream ; — ay, there's the rub ; 
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, 
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, 
Must give us pause." 



MARIA THERESA. 415 

By the death of Charles VI. the male line of the house of 
Hapsburg became extinct, after having continued in uninter- 
rupted succession for over four hundred years. His eldest 
daughter, Maria Theresa, who now succeeded to the crown of 
Austria, was twenty-four years of age. Her figure was tall, 
graceful and commanding. Her features were beautiful, and 
her smile sweet and winning. She was born to command, 
combining in her character woman's power of fascination with 
man's energy. Though so far advanced in pregnancy that she 
was not permitted to see her dying father, the very day after 
his death she so rallied her energies as to give an audience to 
the minister of state, and to assume the government with that 
marvelous vigor which characterized her whole reign. 

Seldom has a kingdom been in a more deplorable condition 
than was Austria on the morning when the scepter passed into 
the hands of Maria Theresa. There were not forty thousand 
dollars in the treasury ; the state was enormously in debt ; the 
whole army did not amount to more than thirty thousand men, 
widely dispersed, clamoring for want of pay, and almost en- 
tirely destitute of the materials for war. The vintage had 
been cut off by the frost, producing great distress in the coun- 
try. There was a famine in Vienna, and many were starving 
for want of food. The peasants, in the neighborhood of the 
metropolis, were rising in insurrection, ravaging the fields in 
search of game ; while rumors were industriously circulated 
that the government was dissolved, that the succession was 
disputed, and that the Duke of Bavaria was on the march, 
with an army, to claim the crown. The distant provinces were 
anxious to shake off the Austrian yoke. Bohemia was agi- 
tated ; and the restless barons of Hungary were upon the 
point of grasping their arms, and, under the protection of Tur- 
key, of claiming their ancestral hereditary rights. Notwith- 
standing the untiring endeavors of the emperor to obtain the 
•assent of Europe to the Pragmatic Sanction, many influential 
courts refused to recognize the right of Maria Theresa to the 



416 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

crown. The ministers were desponding, irresolute and inca- 
pable. Maria Theresa was young, quite inexperienced and in 
delicate health, being upon the eve of her confinement. The 
English ambassador, describing the state of affairs in Vienna 
as they appeared to him at this time, wrote : 

" To the ministers, the Turks seem to be already in Hun- 
gary ; the Hungarians in insurrection ; the Bohemians in open 
revolt ; the Duke of Bavaria, with his army, at the gates of 
Vienna ; and France the soul of all these movements. The 
ministers were not only in despair, but that despair even was 
not capable of rousing them to any desperate exertions." 

Maria Theresa immediately dispatched couriers to inform 
the northern powers of her accession to the crown, and troops 
were forwarded to the frontiers to prevent any hostile invasion 
from Bavaria. The Duke of Bavaria claimed the Austrian 
crown in virtue of the will of Ferdinand I., which, he affirmed, 
devised the crown to his daughters and their descendants in 
case of the failure of the male line. As the male line was now 
extinct, by this decree the scepter would pass to the Duke of 
Bavaria. Charles VI. had foreseen this claim, and endeavored 
to set it aside by the declaration that the clause referred to 
in the will of Ferdinand I. had reference to legitimate heirs, 
not male merely, and that, consequently, it did not set aside 
female descendants. In proof of this, Maria Theresa had the 
will exhibited to all the leading officers of state, and to the 
foreign ambassadors. It appeared that legitimate heirs was 
the phrase. And now the question hinged upon the point, 
w 7 hether females were legitimate heirs. In some kingdoms 
of Europe they were ; in others they were not. In Austria 
the custom had been variable. Here was a nicely-balanced 
question, sufficiently momentous to divide Europe, and w T hich 
might put all the armies of the continent in motion. There 
w r ere also other claimants for the crown, but none who could 
present so plausible a plea as that of the Duke of Bavaria. 

Maria Theresa now waited with great anxiety for the reply 



MARIA THERESA. 417 

she should receive from the foreign powers »vhom she had 
notified of her accession. The Duke of Bavaria was equally 
active and solicitous, and it was quite uncertain whose claim 
would be supported by the surrounding courts. The first 
response came from Prussia. The king sent his congratu- 
lations, and acknowledged the title of Maria Theresa. This 
was followed by a letter from Augustus of Poland, containing 
the same friendly recognition. Russia then sent in assurances 
of cordial support. The King of England returned a friendly 
answer, promising cooperation. All this was cheering. But 
France was then the great power on the continent, and 
could carry with her one half of Europe in almost any cause. 
The response was looked for from France with great anxiety. 
Day after day, week after week passed, and no response came. 
At length the French Secretary of State gave a cautious and 
merely verbal declaration of the friendly disposition of the 
French court. Cardinal Fleury, the illustrious French Secre- 
tary of State, was cold, formal and excessively polite. Maria 
Theresa at once inferred that France withheld her acknowl- 
edgment, merely waiting for a favorable opportunity to recog- 
nize the claims of the Duke of Bavaria. 

While matters were in this state, to the surprise of all, 
Frederic, King of Prussia, drew his sword, and demanded 
large and indefinite portions of Austria to be annexed to his 
territories. Disdaining all appeal to any documentary evidence, 
and scorning to reply to any questionings as to his right, he 
demanded vast provinces, as a highwayman demands one's 
purse, with the pistol at his breast. This fiery young prince, 
inheriting the most magnificent army in Europe, considering 
its discipline and equipments, was determined to display his 
gallantry as a fighter, with Europe for the arena. As he was 
looking about to find some suitable foe against which he could 
hurl his seventy-five thousand men, the defenseless yet large 
and opulent duchy of Silesia presented itself as a glittering 
prize worth the claiming by a royal highwayman. 

18* 



418 THE HOUSE OP A IT S T E I A . 

The Austrian province of Silesia bordered a portion of 
Prussia. While treacherously professing friendship with the 
court of Vienna, with great secrecy and sagacity Frederic as- 
sembled a large force of his best troops in the vicinity of Ber- 
lin, and in mid- winter, when the snow lay deep upon the plains, 
made a sudden rush into Silesia, and, crushing at a blow all 
opposition, took possession of the whole duchy. Having ac- 
complished this feat, he still pretended great friendship for 
Maria Theresa, and sent an ambassador to inform her that he 
was afraid that some of the foreign powers, now conspiring 
against her, might seize the duchy, and thus wrest it from 
her ; that he had accordingly taken it to hold it in safety ; 
and that since it was so very important, for the tranquillity of 
his kingdom, that Silesia should not fall into the hands of an 
enemy, he hoped that Maria Theresa would allow him to re- 
tain the duchy as an indemnity for the expense he had been 
at in taking it." 

This most extraordinary and impertinent message was 
accompanied by a threat. The ambassador of the Prussian 
king, a man haughty and semi-barbaric in his demeanor, gave 
his message in a private interview with the queen's husband, 
Francis, the Duke of Lorraine. In conclusion, the ambassador 
added, " No one is more firm in his resolutions than the King 
of Prussia. He must and will take Silesia. If not secured by 
the immediate cession of that province, his troops and money 
will be offered to the Duke of Bavaria." 

"Go tell your master," the Duke of Lorraine replied with 
dignity, " that while he has a single soldier in Silesia, we will 
rather perish than enter into any discussion. If he will evac- 
uate the duchy, we will treat with him at Berlin. For my 
part, not for the imperial crown, nor even for the whole 
world, will I sacrifice one inch of the queen's lawful posses- 
sions." 

While these negotiations were pending, the king himselt 
made an ostentatious entry into Silesia. The majority of the 



MARIA THERESA. 419 

Silesians were Protestants. The King of Prussia, who had 
discarded religion of all kinds, had of course discarded that 
of Rome, and was thus nominally a Protestant. The Prot- 
estants, who had suffered so much from the persecutions of 
the Catholic church, had less to fear from the infidelity of 
Berlin than from the fanaticism of Rome. Frederic was con- 
sequently generally received with rejoicings. The duchy of 
Silesia was indeed a desirable prize. Spreading over a region 
of more than fifteen thousand square miles, and containing a 
population of more than a million and a half, it presented to 
its feudal lord an ample revenue and the means of raising 
a large army. Breslau, the capital of the duchy, upon the 
Oder, contained a population of over eighty thousand. Built 
upon several islands of that beautiful stream, its situation was 
attractive, while in its palaces and its ornamental squares, it 
vied with the finest capitals of Europe. 

Frederic entered the city in triumph in January, 1741. 
The small Austrian garrison, consisting of but three thousand 
men, retired before him into Moravia. The Prussian monarch 
took possession of the revenues of the duchy, organized the 
government under his own officers, garrisoned the fortresses 
and returned to Berlin. Maria Theresa appealed to friendly 
courts for aid. Most of them were lavish in promises, but she 
waited in vain for any fulfillment. Neither money, arms nor 
men were sent to her. Maria Theresa, thus abandoned and 
thrown upon her own unaided energies, collected a small army 
in Moravia, on the confines of Silesia, and intrusted the com- 
mand to Count Neuperg, whom she liberated from the prison 
to which her father had so unjustly consigned him. But it 
was mid -winter. The roads were almost impassable. The 
treasury of the Austrian court was so empty that but meager 
supplies could be provided for the troops. A ridge of moun- 
tains, whose defiles were blocked up with snow, spread be- 
tween Silesia and Moravia. 

It was not until the close of March that Marshal Neuperg 



420 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

was able to force his way through these defiles and enter Si- 
lesia. The Prussians, not aware of their danger, were reposing 
in their cantonments. Neuperg hoped to take them by sur- 
prise and cut them off in detail. Indeed Frederic, who, by 
chance, was at Jagerndorf inspecting a fortress, was nearly 
surrounded by a party of Austrian hussars, and very narrowly 
escaped capture. The ground was still covered with snow as 
the Austrian troops toiled painfully through the mountains to 
penetrate the Silesian plains. Frederic rapidly concentrated 
his scattered troops to meet the foe. The warlike character 
of the Prussian king was as yet undeveloped, and Neuperg, 
unconscious of the tremendous energies he was to encounter, 
and supposing that the Prussian garrisons w r ould fly in dismay 
before him, was giving his troops, after their exhausting march, 
a few days of repose in the vicinity of Molnitz. 

On the 8th of April there was a thick fall of snow, filling 
the air and covering the fields. Frederic availed himself of 
the storm, which curtained him from all observation, to urge 
forward his troops, that he might overwhelm the Austrians by 
a fierce surprise. While Neuperg was thus resting, all uncon- 
scious of danger, twenty-seven battalions, consisting of sixteen 
thousand men, and twenty-nine squadrons of horse, amounting 
to six thousand, were, in the smothering snow, taking their 
positions for battle. On the morning of the 10th the snow 
ceased to fall, the clouds broke, and the sun came out clear 
and bright, when Neuperg saw that another and a far more 
fearful storm had gathered, and that its thunderbolts were 
about to be hurled into the midst of his camp. 

The Prussian batteries opened their fire, spreading death 
through the ranks of the Austrians, even while they were has- 
tily forming in line of battle. Still the Austrian veterans, ac- 
sustomed to all the vicissitudes of war, undismayed, rapidly 
threw themselves into columns and rushed upon the foe. 
Fiercely the battle raged hour after hour until the middle of 
the afternoon, when the field was covered with the dead and 



MAEIA THEEESA. 421 

crimsoned with blood. The Austrians, having lost three thou- 
sand in slain and two thousand in prisoners, retired in confu- 
sion, surrendering the field, with several guns and banners, to 
the victors. This memorable battle gave Silesia to Prussia, 
and opened the war of the Austrian succession. 

The Duke of Lorraine was greatly alarmed by the threat- 
ening attitude which affairs now assumed. It was evident that 
France, Prussia, Bavaria and many other powers were com- 
bining against Austria, to rob her of her provinces, and per- 
haps to dismember the kingdom entirely. Not a single court 
as yet had manifested any disposition to assist Maria Theresa. 
England urged the Austrian court to buy the peace of Prussia 
at almost any price. Francis, Duke of Lorraine, w T as earnestly 
for yielding, and intreated his wife to surrender a part for 
the sake of retaining the rest. " We had better," he said, 
"surrender Silesia to Prussia, and thus purchase peace with 
Frederic, than meet the chances of so general a war as now 
threatens Austria." 

But Maria Theresa was as imperial in character and as in- 
domitable in spirit as Frederic of Prussia. With indignation 
she rejected all such counsel, declaring that she would never 
cede one inch of her territories to any claimant, and that, even 
if her allies all abandoned her, she would throw herself upon 
her subjects and upon her armies, and perish, if need be, in 
defense of the integrity of Austria. 

Frederic now established his court and cabinet at the camp 
of Molnitz. Couriers were ever coming and going. Envoys 
from France and Bavaria were in constant secret conference 
with him. France, jealous of the power of Austria, was plot- 
ting its dismemberment, even while protesting friendship. 
Bavaria was willing to unite with Prussia in seizing the em- 
pire and in dividing the spoil. These courts seemed to lay no 
claim to any higher morality than that of ordinary highway- 
men. The doom of Maria Theresa was apparently sealed. 
Austria was to be plundered. Other parties now began to 



422 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

rush in with their claims, that they might share in the booty. 
Philip V. of Spain put in his claim for the Austrian crown as 
the lineal descendant of the Emperor Charles V. Augustus, 
King of Poland, urged the right of his wife Maria, eldest 
daughter of Joseph. And even Charles Emanuel, King of 
Sardinia, hunted up an obsolete claim, through the line of the 
second daughter of Philip II. 

At the camp of Molnitz the plan was matured of giving 
Bohemia and Upper Austria to the Duke of Bavaria. Fred- 
eric of Prussia was to receive Upper Silesia and Glatz. Au- 
gustus of Poland was to annex to his kingdom Moravia and 
Upper Silesia. Lombardy was assigned to Spain. Sardinia 
was to receive some compensation not yet fully decided upon. 
The whole transaction was a piece of as unmitigated villainy 
as ever transpired. One can not but feel a little sympathy for 
Austria which had thus fallen among thieves, and was stripped 
and bleeding. Our sympathies are, however, somewhat alle- 
viated by the reflection that Austria was just as eager as any 
of the other powers for any such piratic expedition, and that, 
soon after, she united with Russia and Prussia in plundering 
Poland. And when Poland was dismembered by a trio of re- 
gal robbers, she only incurred the same doom which she was 
now eager to inflict upon Austria. When pirates and robbers 
plunder each other, the victims are not entitled to much sym- 
pathy. To the masses of the people it made but little differ- 
ence whether their life's blood was wrung from them by Rus- 
sian, Prussian or Austrian despots. Under whatever rule they 
lived, they were alike doomed to toil as beasts of burden in 
the field, or to perish amidst the hardships and the carnage of 
the camp. 

These plans were all revealed to Maria Theresa, and with 
such a combination of foes so powerful, it seemed as if no 
earthly wisdom could avert her doom. But her lofty spirit 
remained unyielding, and she refused all offers of accommoda- 
tion based upon the surrender of any portion of her territo- 



MAEIA THEEESA. 423 

ries. England endeavored to induce Frederic to consent to 
take the duchy of Glogau alone, suggesting that thus his Prus- 
sian majesty had it in his power to conclude an honorable 
peace, and to show his magnanimity by restoring tranquillity 
bo Europe. 

"At the beginning of the war," Frederic replied, "I might 
perhaps have been contented with this proposal. At present 
I must have four duchies. But do not," he exclaimed, impa- 
tiently, " talk to me of magnanimity. A prince must con- 
sult his own interests. I am not averse to peace ; but I want 
four duchies, and I will have them." 

Frederic of Prussia was no hypocrite. He was a highway 
robber and did not profess to be any thing else. His power 
was such that instead of demanding of the helpless traveler his 
watch, he could demand of powerful nations their revenues. 
If they did not yield to his demands he shot them down with- 
out compunction, and left them in their blood. The British 
minister ventured to ask what four duchies Frederic intended 
to take. No reply could be obtained to this question. By 
the four duchies he simply meant that he intended to extend 
the area of Prussia over every inch of territory he could pos- 
sibly acquire, either by fair means or by foul. 

England, alarmed by these combinations, which it was evi- 
dent that France was sagaciously forming and guiding, and 
from the successful prosecution of which plans it was certain 
that France would secure some immense accession of power, 
granted to Austria a subsidy of one million five hundred thou- 
sand dollars, to aid her in repelling her foes. Still the danger 
from the grand confederacy became so imminent, that the 
Duke of Lorraine and all the Austrian ministry united with the 
British ambassador, in entreating Maria Theresa to try to 
break up the confederacy and purchase peace with Prussia by 
offering Frederic the duchy of Glogau. With extreme reluct- 
ance the queen at length yielded to these importunities, and 
consented that an envoy should take the proposal to the Prus- 



424 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

sian camp at Molnitz. As the envoy was about to leave be 
expressed some apprehension that the Prussian king might 
reject the proffer. 

" I wish he may reject it," exclaimed the queen, passionate- 
ly. "It would be a relief to my conscience. God only knows 
how I can answer to my subjects for the cession of the duchy, 
having sworn to them never to alienate any part of our coun- 
try." 

Mr. Robinson, the British ambassador, as mediator, took 
these terms to the Prussian camp. In the endeavor to make 
as good a bargain as possible, he was first to offer Austrian 
Guelderland. If that failed he was then to offer Limburg, a 
province of the Netherlands, containing sixteen hundred square 
miles, and if this was not accepted, he was authorized, as the 
ultimatum, to consent to the cession of the duchy of Glogau. 
The Prussian king received the ambassadors, on the 5th of 
August, in a large tent, in his camp at Molanitz. The king 
was a blunt, uncourtly man, and the interview was attended 
with none of the amenities of polished life. After a few de- 
sultory remarks, the British ambassador opened the business 
by saying that he was authorized by the Queen of Austria to 
offer, as the basis of peace, the cession to Prussia of Austrian 
Guelderland. 

"What a beggarly offer," exclaimed the king. "This is 
extremely impertinent. " What ! nothing but a paltry town 
for all my just pretensions in Silesia!" 

In this tirade of passion, either affected or real, he contin- 
ued for some time. Mr. Robinson waited patiently until this 
outburst was exhausted, and then hesitatingly remarked that 
the queen was so anxious to secure the peace of Europe, that 
if tranquillity could not be restored on other terms she was 
even willing to cede to Prussia, in addition, the province of 
Limburg. 

" Indeed !" said the ill-bred, clownish king, contemptuous- 
ly. " And how can the queen think of violating her solemn 



MARIA THEEESA. 425 

oath which renders every inch of the Low Countries inalienable. 
I have no desire to obtain distant territory which will be use- 
less to me ; much less do I wish to expend money in new for- 
tification. Neither the French nor the Dutch have offended 
me ; and I do not wish to offend them, by acquiring territo- 
ry in the vicinity of their realms. If I should accept Limburg, 
what security could I have that I should be permitted to re- 
tain it ?" 

The ambassador replied, "England, Russia and Saxony, 
will give their guaranty." 

"Guaranties," rejoined the king, sneeringly. " Who, in 
these times, pays any regard to pledges ? Have not both En- 
gland and France pledged themselves to support the Prag- 
matic Sanction ? Why do they not keep their promises ? 
The conduct of these powers is ridiculous. They only do what 
is for their own interests. As for me, I am at the head of an 
invincible army. I want Silesia. I have taken it, and I intend 
to keep it. What kind of a reputation should I have if I 
should abandon the first enterprise of my reign ? No ! I will 
sooner be crushed with my whole army, than renounce my 
rights in Silesia. Let those who want peace grant me my de- 
mands. If they prefer to fight again, they can do so, and 
again be beaten." 

Mr. Robinson ventured to offer a few soothing words to 
calm the ferocious brute, and then proposed to give to him 
Glogau, a small but rich duchy of about six hundred square 
miles, near the frontiers of Prussia. 

Frederic rose in a rage, and with loud voice and threaten- 
ing gestures, exclaimed, 

"If the queen does not, within six weeks, yield to my 
demands, I will double them. Return with this answer to 
Vienna. They who want peace with me, will not oppose my 
wishes. I am sick of ultimatums ; I will hear no more of them. 
I demand Silesia. This is my final answer. I will give no 
other." 



426 THE HOUSE OF AUSTBIA. 

Then turning upon his heel, with an air of towering in- 
dignation, he retired behind the inner curtain of his tent. 
Such was the man to whom Providence, in its inscrutable 
wisdom, had assigned a throne, and a highly disciplined army 
of seventy-five thousand men. To northern Europe he 
proved an awful scourge, inflicting woes, which no tongue 
can adequately tell. 

And now the storm of war seemed to commence in ear- 
nest. The Duke of Bavaria issued a manifesto, declaring his 
right to the whole Austrian inheritance, and pronouncing 
Maria Theresa a usurper. He immediately marched an army 
into one of the provinces of Austria. At the same time, two 
French armies were preparing to cross the Rhine to cooperate 
with the Bavarian troops. The King of Prussia was also on 
the march, extending his conquests. Still Maria Theresa re- 
mained inflexible, refusing to purchase peace with Prussia by 
the surrender of Silesia. 

" The resolution of the queen is taken," she said. " If 
the House of Austria must perish, it is indifferent whether 
it perishes by an Elector of Bavaria, or by an Elector of 
Brandenburg." 

While these all important matters were under discussion, 
the queen, on the 13th of March, gave birth to a son, the 
Archduke Joseph. This event strengthened the queen's res- 
olution, to preserve, not only for herself, but for her son and 
heir, the Austrian empire in its integrity. From her infan- 
cy she had imbibed the most exalted ideas of the dignity 
and grandeur of the house of Hapsburg. She had also been 
taught that her inheritance was a solemn trust which she w r as 
religiously bound to preserve. Thus religious principle, fam- 
ily pride and maternal love all now combined to increase the 
inflexibility of a will which by nature was indomitable. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

MARIA THERESA. 
From 1741 to 1743. 

Character of Francis, Duke of Lorraine.— Policy of European Courts. — Plan 
of the Allies. — Siege of Prague.— Desperate Condition of the Queen. — Her 
Coronation in Hungary. — Enthusiasm of the Barons. — Speech of Maria 
Theresa. — Peace with Frederic of Prussia. — His Duplicity.— Military Move- 
ment of the Duke of Lorraine. — Battle of Chazleau. — Second Treaty 
with Frederic. — Despondency of the Duke of Bavaria.— March of Malle- 
bois.— Extraordinary Eetreat of Belleisle.— Becovery of Prague by the 
Queen. 

MARIA Theresa, as imperial in spirit as in position, was 
unwilling to share the crown, even with her husband. 
Francis officiated as her chief minister, giving audience to 
foreign ambassadors, and attending to many of the details of 
government, yet he had but little influence in the direction 
of affairs. Though a very handsome man, of polished ad- 
dress, and well cultivated understanding, he was not a man 
of either brilliant or commanding intellect. Maria Theresa, 
as a woman, could not aspire to the imperial throne ; but all 
the energies of her ambitious nature were roused to secure 
that dignity for her husband. Francis was very anxious to 
secure for himself the electoral vote of Prussia, and he, con- 
sequently, was accused of being willing to cede Austrian ter- 
ritory to Frederic to purchase his support. This deprived 
him of all influence whenever he avowed sentiments contrary 
to those of the queen. 

England, jealous of the vast continental power of France, 
was anxious to strengthen Austria, as a means of holding 



428 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

France in check. Seldom, in any of these courts, was the 
question of right or wrong considered, in any transaction. 
Each court sought only its own aggrandizement and the hu- 
miliation of its foes. The British cabinet, now, with very 
considerable zeal, espoused the cause of Maria Theresa. 
Pamphlets were circulated to rouse the enthusiasm of the 
nation, by depicting the wrongs of a young and beautiful 
queen, so unchivalrously assailed by bearded monarchs in 
overwhelming combination. The national ardor was thus 
easily kindled. On the 8th of August the King of England, 
in an animated speech from the throne, urged Parliament to 
support Maria Theresa, thus to maintain the balance of power 
in Europe. One million five hundred thousand dollars were 
immediately voted, with strong resolutions in favor of the 
queen. The Austrian ambassador, in transmitting this money 
and these resolutions to the queen, urged that no sacrifice 
should be made to purchase peace with Prussia; affirming 
that the king, the Parliament, and the people of England 
were all roused to enthusiasm in behalf of Austria ; and that 
England would spend its last penny, and shed its last drop of 
blood, in defense of the cause of Maria Theresa. This en- 
couraged the queen exceedingly, for she was sanguine that 
Holland, the natural ally of England, would follow the 
example of that nation. She also cherished strong hopes that 
Russia might come to her aid. 

It was the plan of France to rob Maria Theresa of all 
her possessions excepting Hungary, to which distant king- 
dom she was to be driven, and where she was to be left un- 
disturbed to defend herself as she best could against the 
Turks. Thus the confederates would have, to divide among 
themselves, the States of the Netherlands, the kingdom of 
Bohemia, the Tyrol, the duchies of Austria, Silesia, Moravia, 
Carinthia, Servia and various other duchies opulent and popu- 
lous, over which the vast empire of Austria had extended its 
sway. 



MARIA THERESA. 429 

The French armies crossed the Rhine and united with the 
Bavarian troops. The combined battalions marched, sweep- 
ing all opposition before them, to Lintz, the capital of upper 
Austria. This city, containing about thirty thousand inhabi- 
tants, is within a hundred miles of Vienna, and is one of the 
most beautiful in Germany. Here, with much military and 
civic pomp, the Duke of Bavaria was inaugurated Archduke 
of the Austrian duchies. A detachment of the army was then 
dispatched down the river to Polten, within twenty-four miles 
of Vienna ; from whence a summons was sent to the capital 
to surrender. At the same time a powerful army turned its 
steps north, and pressing on a hundred and fifty miles, over 
the mountains and through the plains of Bohemia, laid siege 
to Prague, which was filled with magazines, and weakly gar- 
risoned. Frederic, now in possession of all Silesia, was leading 
his troops to cooperate with those of France and Bavaria. 

The cause of Maria Theresa was now, to human vision, 
desperate. Immense armies were invading her realms. 
Prague was invested ; Vienna threatened with immediate 
siege ; her treasury was empty ; her little army defeated and 
scattered ; she was abandoned by her allies, and nothing 
seemed to remain for her but to submit to her conquerors. 
Hungary still clung firmly to the queen, and she had been 
crowned at Presburg with boundless enthusiasm. An eye- 
witness has thus described this scene : — 

" The coronation was magnificent. The queen was all 
charm. She rode gallantly up the Royal Mount, a hillock in 
the vicinity of Presburg, which the new sovereign ascends 
on horseback, and waving a drawn sword, defied the four 
corners of the world, in a manner to show that she had no 
occasion for that weapon to conquer all who saw her. The 
antiquated crown received new graces from her head ; and 
the old tattered robe of St. Stephen became her as well as 
her own rich habit, if diamonds, pearls and all sorts of pre- 
cious stones can be called clothes." 



430 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

She had but recently risen from the bed of confinement 
and the delicacy of her appearance added to her attractions. 
A table was spread for a public entertainment, around which 
all the dignitaries of the realm were assembled — dukes who 
could lead thousands of troops into the field, bold barons, 
with their bronzed followers, whose iron sinews had been 
toughened in innumerable wars. It was a warm summer day, 
and the cheek of the youthful queen glowed with the warmth 
and with the excitement of the hour. Her beautiful hair fell 
in ringlets upon her shoulders and over her full bosom. She 
sat at the head of the table all queenly in loveliness, and impe- 
rial in character. The bold, high-spirited nobles, who sur- 
rounded her, could appreciate her position, assailed by half 
the monarchies of Europe, and left alone to combat them all. 
Their chivalrous enthusiasm was thus aroused. 

The statesmen of Vienna had endeavored to dissuade the 
queen from making any appeal to the Hungarians. When 
Charles VI. made an effort to secure their assent to the Prag- 
matic Sanction, the war-worn barons replied haughtily, " We 
are accustomed to be governed by men, not by women." 
The ministers at Vienna feared, therefore, that the very sight 
of the queen, youthful, frail and powerless, would stir these 
barons to immediate insurrection, and that they would scorn 
such a sovereign to guide them in the fierce wars which her 
crown involved. But Maria Theresa better understood human 
nature. She believed that the same barons, who would resist 
the demands of the Emperor Charles VI., wou4d rally with 
enthusiasm around a defenseless woman, appealing to them 
for aid. The cordiality and ever-increasing glow of ardor 
with which she was greeted at the coronation and at the din- 
ner encouraged her hopes. 

She summoned all the nobles to meet her in the great hall 
of the castle. The hall was crowded with as brilliant an 
assemblage of rank and power as Hungary could furnish. 
The queen entered, accompanied by her retinue. She waa 



MARIA THERESA. 431 

dressed in deep mourning, in the Hungarian costume, with 
the crown of St. Stephen upon her brow, and the regal cimiter 
at her side. With a majestic step she traversed the apart- 
ment, and ascended the platform or tribune from whence the 
Kings of Hungary were accustomed to address their con- 
gregated lords. All eyes were fixed upon her, and the most 
solemn silence pervaded the assemblage. 

The Latin language was then, in Hungary, the language of 
diplomacy and of the court. All the records of the kingdom 
were preserved in that language, and no one spoke, in the de- 
liberations of the diet, but in the majestic tongue of ancient 
Rome. The queen, after a pause of a few moments, during 
which she carefully scanned the assemblage, addressing them 
in Latin, said : — 

" The disastrous situation of our affairs has moved us 
to lay before our dear and faithful States of Hungary, the 
recent invasion of Austria, the danger now impending over 
this kingdom, and a proposal for the consideration of a 
remedy. The very existence of the kingdom of Hungary, of 
our own person, of our children and our crown, is now at 
stake. Forsaken by all, we place our sole resource in the 
fidelity, arms and long tried valor of the Hungarians ; ex- 
horting you, the states and orders, to deliberate without delay 
in this extreme danger, on the most effectual measures for 
the security of our person, of our children and of our crown, 
and to carry them into immediate execution. In regard to 
ourself, the faithful states and orders of Hungary shall ex- 
perience our hearty cooperation in all things which may 
promote the pristine happiness of this ancient kingdom, and 
the honor of the people." * 

* Some may feel interested in reading this speech in the original Latin, as 
it is now found recorded in the archives of Hungary. It is as follows : 

"Allocutio Reginse Hungarian Marise Theresise, anno 1741. Afflictus 
rerum nostrarum status nos movit, ut fidelibus perchari regni Hungariae sta- 
tibus de hostili provincise nostrae hereditaria}, Austriae invasione, et imminente 



432 THE HODSE OF ATJSTKIA. 

The response was instantaneous and emphatic. A thousand 
warriors drew their sabers half out of their scabbards, and 
then thrust them back to the hilt, with a clangor like the 
clash of swords on the field of battle. Then with one voice 
they shouted, "Moriamur pro nostra rege, Maria Theresa" — 
We will die for our sovereign, Maria Tlieresa. 

The queen, until now, had preserved a perfectly calm 
and composed demeanor. But this outburst of enthusiasm 
overpowered her, and forgetting the queen, she pressed her 
handkerchief to her eyes and burst into a flood of tears. 
No manly heart could stand this unmoved. Every eye was 
moistened, every heart throbbed with admiration and devo- 
tion, and a scene of indescribable enthusiasm ensued. Hun- 
gary was now effectually roused, and Maria Theresa was 
queen of all hearts. Every noble was ready to march his 
vassals and to open his purse at her bidding. All through 
the wide extended realm, the enthusiasm rolled like an in- 
undation. The remote tribes on the banks of the Save, the 
Theiss, the Drave, and the lower Danube flocked to her 
standards. They came, semi-savage bands, in uncouth garb, 
and speaking unintelligible tongues — Croats, Pandours, Scla- 
vonians, Warusdinians and Tolpaches. Germany was as- 
tounded at the spectacle of these wild, fierce men, apparently 
as tameless and as fearless as wolves. The enthusiasm spread 
rapidly all over the States of Austria. The young men, and 
especially the students in the universities, espoused the' cause 
of the queen with deathless fervor. Vienna was strongly for- 

regno huic periculo, adeoque de considerando remedio propositionem scriplo 
faciamus. Agitur de regno Hungaria, de persona, nostra, prolibus nostris, et 
corona, ab omnibus derelicti, unice ad incbytorum statuum fideiitatem, arraa, 
et Hungarorum priscam virtutem confugimus. impense hortantes, velint status 
et ordines in hoc maxiino periculo de securitate personae nostr-ae, prolium, 
corona?, et regni quanto ocius consulere, et ea in effectum etiam deducere. 
Quantum ex parte nostra est, quascunque pro pristina regni hujus felicitate, 
et gentis decore forent, in iis omnibus benignitatem et clementiam nostram 
regiam fideles status et ordines regni experturi sunt." 



MARIA THERESA. 433 

tified, all hands engaging in the work. So wonderful was this 
movement, that the allies were alarmed. They had already 
become involved in quarrels about the division of the antici- 
pated booty. 

Frederic of Prussia was the first to implore peace. The 
Elector of Bavaria was a rival sovereign, and Frederic pre- 
ferred seeing Austria in the hands of the queen, rather than 
in the hands of the elector. He was, therefore, anxious to 
withdraw from the confederacy, and to oppose the allies. 
The queen, as anxious as Frederic to come to an accommoda- 
tion, sent an ambassador to ascertain his terms. In laconic 
phrase, characteristic of this singular man, he returned the fol- 
lowing answer : — 

"All lower Silesia; the river Neiss for the boundary. 
The town of Neiss as well as Glatz. Beyond the Oder the 
ancient limits to continue between the duchies of Brieg 
and Oppelon. Breslau for us. The affairs of religion in 
statu quo. No dependence on Bohemia; a cession forever. 
In return we will proceed no further. We will besiege ISTeiss 
for form. The commandant shall surrender and depart. We 
will pass quietly into winter quarters, and the Austrian army 
may go where they will. Let the whole be concluded in 
twelve days." 

These terras were assented to. The king promised never 
to ask any further territory from the queen, and not to act 
offensively against the queen or any of her allies. Though 
the queen placed not the slightest confidence in the integrity 
of the Prussian monarch, she rejoiced in this treaty, which 
enabled her to turn all her attention to her other foes. The 
allies were now in possession of nearly all of Bohemia and 
were menacing Prague. 

The Duke of Lorraine hastened with sixty thousand men 
to the relief of the capital. He had arrived within nine miles 
of the city, when he learned, to his extreme chagrin, that the 
preceding night Prague had been taken by surprise. That 

19 



434 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

very day the Elector of Bavaria made a triumphal entry into 
the town, and was soon crowned King of Bohemia. And 
now the electoral diet of Germany met, and, to the extreme 
disappointment of Maria Theresa, chose, as Emperor of Ger- 
many, instead of her husband, the Elector of Bavaria, whom 
they also acknowledged King of Bohemia. He received the 
imperial crown at Frankfort on the 12th of February, 1*742, 
with the title of Charles VII. 

The Duke of Lorraine having been thus thwarted in his 
plan of relieving Prague, and not being prepared to assail the 
allied army in possession of the citadel, and behind the 
ramparts of the city, detached a part of his army to keep the 
enemy in check, and sent General Kevenhuller, with thirty 
thousand men, to invade and take possession of Bavaria, now 
nearly emptied of its troops. By very sagacious movements 
the general soon became master of all the defiles of the 
Bavarian mountains. He then pressed forward, overcoming 
all opposition, and in triumph entered Munich, the capital of 
Bavaria, the very day Charles was chosen emperor. Thus 
the elector, as he received the imperial crown, dropped his 
own hereditary estates from his hand. 

This triumph of the queen's arms alarmed Frederic of 
Prussia. He reposed as little confidence in the honesty of 
the Austrian court as they reposed in him. He was afraid 
that the queen, thus victorious, would march her triumphant 
battalions into Silesia and regain the lost duchy. He conse- 
quently, in total disregard of his treaty, and without troubling 
himself to make any declaration of war, resumed hostilities. 
He entered into a treaty with his old rival, the Elector of 
Bavaria, now King of Bohemia, and Emperor of Germany. 
Receiving from the emperor large accessions of territory, 
Frederic devoted his purse and army to the allies. His 
armies were immediately in motion. They overran Moravia, 
and were soon in possession of all of its most important 
fortresses. All the energies of Frederic were consecrated 



MARIA THERESA. 435 

to any cause in which he enlisted. He was indefatigable in 
his activity. With no sense of dishonor in violating a solemn 
treaty, with no sense of shame in conspiring with banded 
despots against a youthful queen, of whose youth, and feeble- 
ness and feminine nature they wished to take advantage that 
they might rob her of her possessions, Frederic rode from 
camp to camp, from capital to capital, to infuse new vigor 
into the alliance. He visited the Elector of Saxony at Dres- 
den, then galloped to Prague, then returned through Moravia, 
and placed himself at the head of his army. Marching 
vigorously onward, he entered upper Austria. His hussars 
spread terror in all directions, even to the gates of Vi- 
enna. 

The Hungarian troops pressed forward in defense of the 
queen. Wide leagues of country were desolated by war, as 
all over Germany the hostile battalions swept to and fro. 
The Duke of Lorraine hastened from Moravia for the defense 
of Vienna, while detached portions of the Austrian army were 
on the rapid march, in all directions, to join him. On the 
16th of May, 1742, the Austrian army, under the Duke of 
Lorraine, and the Prussian army under Frederic, encountered 
each other, in about equal numbers, at Chazleau. Equal in 
numbers, equal in skill, equal in bravery, they fought with 
equal success. After several hours of awful carnage, fourteen 
thousand corpses strewed the ground. Seven thousand were 
Austrians, seven thousand Prussians. The Duke of Lorraine 
retired first, leaving a thousand prisoners, eighteen pieces of 
artillery and two standards, with the foe ; but he took with 
him, captured from the Prussians, a thousand prisoners, four- 
teen cannon, and two standards. As the duke left Frederic 
in possession of the field, it was considered a Prussian victory. 
But it was a victory decisive of no results, as each party 
was alike crippled. Frederic was much disappointed. He 
had anticipated the annihilation of the Austrian army, and 
a triumphant march to Vienna, where, in the palaces of 



436 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA, 

the Austrian kings, he intended to dictate terms to the pros 
trate monarchy. 

The queen had effectually checked his progress, new levies 
were crowding to her aid, and it was in vain for Frederic, 
with his diminished and exhausted regiments, to undertake 
an assault upon the ramparts of Vienna. Again he proposed 
terms of peace. He demanded all of upper as well as lower 
Silesia, and the county of Glatz, containing nearly seven 
hundred square miles, and a population of a little over sixty 
thousand. Maria Theresa, crowded by her other enemies, 
was exceedingly anxious to detach a foe so powerful and 
active, and she accordingly assented to the hard terms. This 
new treaty was signed at Breslau, on the 11th of June, and 
was soon ratified by both sovereigns. The Elector of Saxony 
was also included in this treaty and retired from the contest. 

The withdrawal of these forces seemed to turn the tide of 
battle in favor of the Austrians. The troops from Hungary 
fought with the most romantic devotion. A band of Croats 
in the night swam across a river, with their sabers in their 
mouths, and climbing on each other's shoulders, scaled the 
walls of the fortress of Piseck, and made the garrison prison- 
ers of war. The Austrians, dispersing the allied French and 
Bavarians in many successful skirmishes, advanced to the 
walls of Prague. With seventy thousand men, the Duke of 
Lorraine commenced the siege of this capital, so renowned in 
the melancholy annals of war. The sympathies of Europe 
began to turn in favor of Maria Theresa. It became a 
general impression, that the preservation of the Austrian 
monarchy was essential to hold France in check, which colos- 
sal power seemed to threaten the liberties of Europe. The 
cabinet of England was especially animated by this sentiment, 
and a change in the ministry being effected, the court of St. 
James sent assurances to Vienna of their readiness to support 
the queen with the whole power of the British empire. 
Large supplies of men and money were immediately voted. 



MARIA THERESA. 437 

Sixteen thousand men were landed in Flanders to cooperate 
with the Austrian troops. Holland, instigated by the example 
of England, granted Maria Theresa a subsidy of eight hundred 
and forty thousand florins. The new Queen of Russia, also, 
Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, adopted measures 
highly favorable to Austria. 

In Italy affairs took a singular turn in favor of the 
Austrian queen. The King of Sardinia, ever ready to embark 
his troops in any enterprise which gave him promise of booty, 
alarmed by the grasping ambition of France and Spain, who 
were ever seizing the lion's share in all plunder, seeing that 
he could not hope for much advantage in his alliance with 
them, proposed to the queen that if she would cede to him 
certain of the Milanese provinces, he would march his troops 
into her camp. This was a great gain for Maria Theresa. 
The Sardinian troops guarding the passes of the Alps, shut 
out the French, during the whole campaign, from entering 
Italy. At the same time the Sardinian king, with another 
portion of his army, aided by the Austrian troops, overran 
the whole duchy of Modena, and drove out the Spaniards. 
The English fleet in the Mediterranean cooperated in this 
important measure. By the threat of a bombardment they 
compelled the King of Naples to withdraw from the French 
and Spanish alliance. Thus Austria again planted her foot in 
Italy. This extraordinary and unanticipated success created 
the utmost joy and exultation in Vienna. The despondency 
of the French court was correspondingly great. A few 
months had totally changed the aspect of affairs. The allied 
troops were rapidly melting away, with none to fill up the 
dwindling ranks. The proud army which had swept over 
Germany, defying all opposition, was now cooped up within 
the walls of Prague, beleaguered by a foe whom victory had 
rendered sanguine. The new emperor, claiming the crown 
of Austria, had lost his own territory of Bavaria; and the 
capital of Bohemia, where he had so recently been en- 



438 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

throned, was hourly in peril of falling into the hands of his 
foes. 

Under these circumstances the hopes of the Duke ol 
Bavaria sank rapidly into despair. The hour of disaster re- 
vealed a meanness of spirit which prosperity had not devel- 
oped. He sued for peace, writing a dishonorable and cringing 
letter, in which he protested that he was not to blame for 
the war, but that the whole guilt rested upon the French 
court, which had inveigled him to present his claim and com- 
mence hostilities. Maria Theresa made no other reply to this 
humiliating epistle than to publish it, and give it a wide cir- 
culation throughout Europe. Cardinal Fleury, the French 
minister of state, indignant at this breach of confidence, sent 
to the cabinet of Vienna a remonstrance and a counter state- 
ment. This paper also the queen gave to the public. 

Marshal Belleisle was in command of the French and 
Bavarian troops, which were besieged in Prague. The force 
rapidly gathering around him was such as to render retreat 
impossible. The city was unprepared for a siege, and famine 
soon began to stare the citizens and garrison in the face. 
The marshal, reduced to the last extremity, offered to evacu- 
ate the city and march out of Bohemia, if he could be per- 
mitted to retire unmolested, with arms, artillery and baggage. 
The Duke of Lorraine, to avoid a battle which would be 
rendered sanguinary through despair, was ready and even 
anxious to assent to these terms. His leading generals were 
of the same opinion, as they wished to avoid a needless 
effusion of blood. 

The offered terms of capitulation were sent to Maria 
Theresa. She rejected them with disdain. She displayed a 
revengeful spirit, natural, perhaps, under the circumstances, 
but which reflects but little honor upon her character. 

" I will not," she replied, in the presence of the whole 
court ; " I will not grant any capitulation to the French 
army. I will listen to no terms, to no proposition from Car- 



MARIA THERESA. 439 

diiial Fleury. I am astonished that he should come to me 
now with proposals for peace ; he who endeavored to excite 
all the princes of Germany to crush me. I have acted with 
too much condescension to the court of France. Compelled 
bv the necessities of my situation I debased my royal dignity 
by writing to the cardinal in terms which would have soft- 
ened the most obdurate rock. He insolently rejected my 
entreaties ; and the only answer I obtained was that his most 
Christian majesty had contracted engagements which he 
could not violate. I can prove, by documents now in my 
possession, that the French endeavored to excite sedition 
even in the heart of my dominions ; that they attempted to 
overturn the fundamental laws of the empire, and to set all 
Germany in a flame. I will transmit these proofs to posterity 
as a warning to the empire." 

The ambition of Maria Theresa was now greatly roused. 
She resolved to retain the whole of Bavaria which she had 
taken from the elector. The duchy of Lorraine, which had 
been wrested from her husband, was immediately to be in- 
vaded and restored to the empire. The dominions which had 
been torn from her father in Italy were to be reannexed to 
the Austrian crown, and Alsace upon the Rhine was to be re- 
claimed. Thus, far from being now satisfied with the posses- 
sions she had inherited from her father, her whole soul was 
roused, in these hours of triumph, to conquer vast accessions 
for her domains. She dreamed only of conquest, and in her 
elation parceled out the dominions of France and Bavaria 
as liberally and as unscrupulously as they had divided among 
themselves the domain of the house of Austria. 

The French, alarmed, made a great effort to relieve 
Prague. An army, which on its march was increased to 
sixty thousand men, was sent six hundred miles to cross 
rivers, to penetrate defiles of mountains crowded with hostile 
troops, that they might rescue Prague and its garrison from 
the besiegers. With consummate skill and energy this criti- 



440 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

cal movement was directed by General Mallebois. The 
garrison of the city were in a state of great distress. The 
trenches were open and the siege was pushed with great vigi- 
lance. All within the walls of the beleaguered city were re- 
duced to extreme suffering. Horse flesh was considered a 
delicacy which was reserved for the sick. The French made 
sally after sally to spike the guns which were battering down 
the walls. As Mallebois, with his powerful reenforcement, 
drew near, their courage rose. The Duke of Lorraine be- 
came increasingly anxious to secure the capitulation before 
the arrival of the army of relief, and proposed a conference 
to decide upon terms, which should be transmitted for ap- 
proval to the courts of Vienna and of Paris. But the im- 
perious Austrian queen, as soon as she heard of this move- 
ment, quite regardless of the feelings of her husband, whom 
she censured as severely as she would any corporal in the 
army, issued orders prohibiting, peremptorily, any such con- 
ference. 

" I will not suffer," she said " any council to be held in 
the army. From Vienna alone are orders to be received, I 
disavow 7 and forbid all such proceedings, let the blame fall 
where it may." 

She knew full well that it was her husband w T ho had pro- 
posed this plan ; and he knew, and all Austria knew, that it 
was the Duke of Lorraine who was thus severely and pub- 
licly reprimanded. But the husband of Maria Theresa was 
often reminded that he w T as but the subject of the queen. So 
peremptory a mandate admitted of no compromise. The 
Austrians plied their batteries w 7 ith new vigor, the wan and 
skeleton soldiers fought perseveringly at their embrasures; 
and the battalions of Mallebois, by forced marches, pressed 
on through the mountains of Bohemia, to the eventful arena. 
A division of the Austrian army was dispatched to the passes 
of Satz and Caden, which it would be necessary for the 
French to thread, in approaching Prague. The troops of 



MARIA THERESA. 441 

Mallebois, when they arrived at these defiles, were so ex- 
hausted by their long and forced marches, that they were in- 
capable of forcing their way against the opposition they en- 
countered in the passes of the mountains. After a severe 
struggle, Mallebois was compelled to relinquish the design of 
relieving Prague, and storms of snow beginning to incumber 
his path, he retired across the Danube, and throwing up an 
intrenched camp, established himself in winter quarters. The 
Austrian division, thus successful, returned to Prague, and the 
blockade was resumed. There seemed to be now no hope 
for the French, and their unconditional surrender was hourly 
expected. Affairs were in this state, when Europe was 
astounded by the report that the French general, Belleisle, 
with a force of eleven thousand foot and three thousand 
horse, had effected his escape from the battered walls of the 
city and was in successful retreat. 

It was the depth of winter. The ground was covered with 
snow, and freezing blasts swept the fields. The besiegers 
were compelled to retreat to the protection of their huts. 
Taking advantage of a cold and stormy night, Belleisle formed 
his whole force into a single column, and, leaving behind him 
his sick and wounded, and every unnecessary incumbrance, 
marched noiselessly but rapidly from one of the gates of the 
city. He took with him but thirty cannon and provisions for 
twelve days. It was a heroic but an awful retreat. The 
army, already exhausted and emaciate by famine, toiled on 
over morasses, through forests, over mountains, facing frost 
and wind and snow, and occasionally fighting their way 
against their foes, until on the twelfth day they reached Egra 
on the frontiers of Bavaria, about one hundred and twenty 
miles east from Prague. 

Their sufferings were fearful. They had nothing to eat 
but frozen bread, and at night they sought repose, tentless, 
and upon the drifted snow. The whole distance was strewed 
with the bodies of the dead. Each morning mounds of frozen 

19* 



442 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

corpses indicated the places of the night's bivouac. Twelve 
hundred perished during this dreadful march. Of those who 
survived, many, at Egra, were obliged to undergo the ampu- 
tation of their frozen limbs. General Belleisle himself, during 
the whole retreat, was suffering from such a severe attack ol 
rheumatism, that he was unable either to walk or ride. His 
mind, however, was full of vigor and his energies unabated. 
Carried in a sedan chair he reconnoitred the way, pointed out 
the roads, visited every part of the extended line of march, 
encouraged the fainting troops, and superintended all the mi- 
nutest details of the retreat. " Notwithstanding the losses 
of his army," it is recorded, " he had the satisfaction of pre- 
serving the flower of the French forces, of saving every 
cannon which bore the arms of his master, and of not leaving 
the smallest trophy to grace the triumph of the enemy." 

In the citadel of Prague, Belleisle had left six thousand 
troops, to prevent the eager pursuit of the Austrians. The 
Prince Sobcuitz, now in command of the besieging force, 
mortified and irritated by the escape, sent a summons to the 
garrison demanding its immediate and unconditional surren- 
der. Chevert, the gallant commander, replied to the officer 
who brought the summons, — 

" Tell the prince that if he will not grant me the honors 
of war, I will set fire to the four corners of Prague, and bury 
myself under its ruins." 

The destruction of Prague, with all its treasures of archi- 
tecture and art, was too serious a calamity to be hazarded. 
Chevert was permitted to retire with the honors of war, and 
with his division he soon rejoined the army at Egra. Maria 
Theresa was exceedingly chagrined by the escape of the 
French, and in the seclusion of her palace she gave vent to 
the bitterness of her anguish. In public, however, she assumed 
an attitude of triumph and great exultation in view of the 
recovery of Prague. She celebrated the event by magnificent 
entertainments. In imitation of the Olympic games, she 



MARIA THERESA. 443 

established chariot races, in which ladies alone were the com- 
petitors, and even condescended herself, with her sister, to 
enter the lists. 

All Bohemia, excepting Egra, was now reclaimed. Early 
in the spring Maria Theresa visited Prague, where, on the 
12th of May, 1743, with great splendor she was crowned 
Queen of Bohemia. General Belleisle, leaving a small garri- 
son at Egra, with the remnant of his force crossed the Rhine 
and returned to France. He had entered Germany a few 
months before, a conqueror at the head of forty thousand 
men. He retired a fugitive with eight thousand men in his 
train, ragged, emaciate and mutilated. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

MARIA THERESA. 

Ekom 1743 to 1748. 

Prosperous Aspect op Austrian Affairs.— Capture of Egra.— Vast Extent of 
Austria. — Dispute with Sardinia. — Marriage of Charles of Lorraine with 
tiie Queen's Sister. — Invasion of Alsace. — Frederic overruns Bohemia. — 
Bohemia recovered by Prince Charles.— Death of the Emperor Charles VII. 
— Venality of the old Monarchies.— Battle of Hohenfriedberg.— Sir Thomas 
Robinson's Interview with Maria Theresa. — Hungarian Enthusiasm. — The 
Duke of Lorraine elected Emperor. — Continuation of the "War.— Treaty of 
Peace.— Indignation of Maria Therbsa. 

THE cause of Maria Theresa, at the commencement of the 
year 1743, was triumphant all over her widely extended 
domains. Russia was cordial in friendship. Holland, in token 
of hostility to France, sent the queen an efficient loan of six 
thousand men, thoroughly equipped for the field. The King 
of Sardinia, grateful for his share in the plunder of the French 
and Spanish provinces in Italy, and conscious that he could 
retain those spoils only by the aid of Austria, sent to the 
queen, in addition to the cooperation of his armies, a gift of a 
million of dollars. England, also, still anxious to check the 
growth of France, continued her subsidy of a million and a 
half, and also with both fleet and army contributed very effi- 
cient military aid. The whole force of Austria was now 
turned against France. The French were speedily driven 
from Bavaria ; and Munich, the capital, fell into the hands of 
the Austrians. The emperor, in extreme dejection, unable to 
present any front of resistance, sent to the queen entreating a 
treaty of neutrality, offering to withdraw all claims to the 



MAEIA THERESA. 445 

Austrian succession, and consenting to leave his Bavarian 
realm in the hands of Maria Theresa until a general peace. 
The emperor, thus humiliated and stripped of all his terri- 
tories, retired to Frankfort. 

On the 7th of September Egra was captured, and the 
queen was placed in possession of all her hereditary domains. 
The wonderful firmness and energy which she had displayed, 
and the consummate wisdom with which she had conceived 
and executed her measures, excited the admiration of Europe. 
In Vienna, and throughout all the States of Austria, her popu- 
larity was unbounded. After the battle of Dettingen, in which 
her troops gained a decisive victory, as the queen was return- 
ing to Vienna from a water excursion, she found the banks of 
the Danube, for nine miles, crowded with her rejoicing sub- 
jects. In triumph she was escorted into the capital, greeted 
by every demonstration of the most enthusiastic joy. 

Austria and England were now prepared to mature their 
plans for the dismemberment of France. The commissioners 
met at Hanau, a small fortified town, a few miles east of 
Frankfort. They met, however, only to quarrel fiercely. 
Austrian and English pride clashed in instant coilision. Lord 
Stair, imperious and irritable, regarded the Austrians as out- 
side barbarians whom England was feeding, clothing and pro- 
tecting. The Austrian officers regarded the English as re- 
mote islanders from whom they had hired money and men. 
The Austrians were amazed at the impudence of the English 
in assuming the direction of affairs. The British officers were 
equally astounded that the Austrians should presume to take 
the lead. No plan of cooperation could be agreed upon, and 
the conference broke up in confusion. 

The queen, whose heart was still fixed upon the elevation 
of her husband to the throne of the empire, was anxious to 
depose the emperor. But England was no more willing to 
see Austria dominant over Europe than to see France thus 
powerful. Maria Theresa was now in possession of all her 



446 THE HOUSE OF AUSTEIA. 

vast ancestral domains, and England judged that it would 
endanger the balance of power to place upon the brow ot 
her husband the imperial crown. The British cabinet con- 
sequently espoused the cause of the Elector of Bavaria, and 
entered into a private airangement with him, agreeing to ac- 
knowledge him as emperor, and to give him an annual pen- 
sion that he might suitably support the dignity of his station. 
The wealth of England seems to have been inexhaustible, for 
half the monarchs of Europe have, at one time or other, been 
fed and clothed from her treasury. George II. contracted to 
pay the emperor, within forty days, three hundred thousand 
dollars, and to do all in his power to constrain the queen 
of Austria to acknowledge his title. 

Maria Theresa had promised the King of Sardinia large ac- 
cessions of territory in Italy, as the price for his cooperation. 
But now, having acquired those Italian territories, she was ex- 
ceedingly reluctant to part with any one of them, and very 
dishonorably evaded, by every possible pretense, the fulfill- 
ment of her agreement. The queen considered herself now 
so strong that she was not anxious to preserve the alliance 
of Sardinia. She thought her Italian possessions secure, even 
in case of the defection of the Sardinian king. Sardinia ap- 
pealed to England, as one of the allies, to interpose for the 
execution of the treaty. To the remonstrance of England the 
queen peevishly replied, 

" It is the policy of England to lead me from one sacri- 
fice to another. I am expected to expose my troops for no 
other end than voluntarily to strip myself of my possessions. 
Should the cession of the Italian provinces, which the King of 
Sardinia claims, be extorted from me, what remains in Italy 
will not be worth defending, and the only alternative left is 
that of being stripped either by England or France." 

While the queen was not willing to give as much as she 
had agreed to bestow, the greedy King of Sardinia was grasp- 
ing at more than she had promised. At last the king, in a 



MARIA THERESA. 447 

rage threatened, that if she did not immediately comply with 
his demands, he would unite with France and Spain and the 
emperor against Austria. This angry menace brought the 
queen to terms, and articles of agreement satisfactory to Sar- 
dinia were signed. During the whole of this summer of 1743, 
though large armies were continually in motion, and there 
were many sanguinary battles, and all the arts of peace were 
destroyed, and conflagration, death and woe were sent to ten 
thousand homes, nothing effectual was accomplished by either 
party. The strife did not cease until winter drove the weary 
combatants to their retreats. 

For the protection of the Austrian possessions against the 
French and Spanish, the queen agreed to maintain in Italy an 
army of thirty thousand men, to be placed under the com- 
mand of the King of Sardinia, w 7 ho was to add to them an 
army of forty-five thousand. England, with characteristic 
prodigality, voted a million of dollars annually, to aid in the 
payment of these troops. It was the object of England, to 
prevent France from strengthening herself by Italian posses- 
sions. The cabinet of St. James took such an interest in this 
treaty that, to secure its enactment, one million five hundred 
thousand dollars were paid down, in addition to the annual 
subsidy. England also agreed to maintain a strong squadron 
in the Mediterranean to cooperate with Sardinia and Austria. 

Amidst these scenes of war, the usual dramas of domestic 
life moved on. Prince Charles of Lorraine, had long been 
ardently attached to Mary Anne, younger sister of Maria 
Theresa. The young prince had greatly signalized himself on 
the field of battle. Their nuptials were attended in Vienna 
with great splendor and rejoicings. It was a union of loving 
hearts. Charles was appointed to the government of the 
Austrian Netherlands. One short and happy year passed 
away, when Mary Anne, in the sorrows of child-birth, breathed 
her last. 

The winder was passed by all parties in making the most 



448 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

vigorous preparations for a new campaign. England and 
France were now thoroughly aroused, and bitterly irritated 
against each other. Hitherto they had acted as auxiliaries for 
other parties. Now they summoned all their energies, and 
became principals in the conflict. France issued a formal dec- 
laration of war against England and Austria, raised an army 
of one hundred thousand men, and the debauched king him- 
self, Louis XV., left his Pare Aux Cerfs and placed himself 
at the head of the army. Marshal Saxe was the active com- 
mander. He was provided with a train of artillery superior 
to any which had ever before appeared on any field. Enter- 
ing the Netherlands he swept all opposition before him. 

The French department of Alsace, upon the Rhine, em- 
braced over forty thousand square miles of territory, and con- 
tained a population of about a million. While Marshal Saxe 
was ravaging the Netherlands, an Austrian army, sixty thou- 
sand strong, crossed the Rhine, like a torrent burst into 
Alsace, and spread equal ravages through the cities and vil- 
lages of France. Bombardment echoed to bombardment ; 
conflagration blazed in response to conflagration ; and the 
shrieks of the widow, and the moans of the orphan which 
rose from the marshes of Burgundy, were reechoed in an un- 
dying wail along the valleys of the Rhine. 

The King of Fiance, alarmed by the progress Which the 
Austrians were making in his own territories, ordered thirty 
thousand troops, from the army in the Netherlands, to be 
dispatched to the protection of Alsace. Again the tide was 
turning against Maria Theresa. She had become so arrogant 
and exacting, that she had excited the displeasure of nearly 
all the empire. She persistently refused to acknowledge the 
emperor, who, beyond all dispute, was legally elected ; she 
treated the diet contemptuously ; she did not disguise her de- 
termination to hold Bavaria by the right of conquest, and to 
annex it to Austria ; she had compelled the Bavarians to take 
the oath of allegiance to her ; she was avowedly meditating 



MARIA THERESA. 449 

gigantic projects in the conquest of France and Italy ; and it 
was very evident that she was maturing her plans for the re- 
conquest of Silesia. Such inordinate ambition alarmed all 
the neighboring courts. Frederic of Prussia was particularly 
alarmed lest he should lose Silesia. With his accustomed 
energy he again drew his sword against the queen, and became 
the soul of a new confederacy which combined many of the 
princes of the empire whom the haughty queen had treated 
with so much indignity. In this new league, formed by 
Frederic, the Elector Palatine and the King of Sweden were 
brought into the field against Maria Theresa. All this was 
effected with the utmost secrecy, and the queen had no in- 
timation of her danger until the troops were in motion. 
Frederic published a manifesto in which he declared that he 
took up arms " to restore to the German empire its liberty, to 
the emperor his dignity, and to Europe repose." 

With his strong army he burst into Bohemia, now drained 
of its troops to meet the war in the Netherlands and on the 
Rhine. With a lion's tread, brushing all opposition away, he 
advanced to Prague. The capital was compelled to surrender, 
and the garrison of fifteen thousand troops became prisoners 
of war. Nearly all the fortresses of the kingdom fell into his 
hands. Establishing garrisons at Tabor, Budweiss, Frauen- 
berg, and other important posts, he then made an irruption 
into Bavaria, scattered the Austrian troops in all directions, 
entered Munich in triumph, and reinstated the emperor in the 
possession of his capital and his duchy. Such are the fortunes 
of war. The queen heard these tidings of accumulated dis- 
aster in dismay. In a few weeks of a summer's campaign, 
when she supposed that Europe was almost a suppliant at her 
feet, she found herself deprived of the Netherlands, of the 
whole kingdom of Bohemia, the brightest jewel in her crown, 
and of the electorate of Bavaria. 

But the resolution and energy of the queen remained 
indomitable. Maria Theresa and Frederic were fairly pitted 



450 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

against each other. It was Greek meeting Greek. The 
queen immediately recalled the army from Alsace, and in 
person repaired to Presburg, where she summoned a diet of 
the Hungarian nobles. In accordance with an ancient custom, 
a blood-red flag waved from all the castles in the kingdom, 
summoning the people to a levy en masse, or, as it was then 
called, to a general insurrection. An army of nearly eighty 
thousand men was almost instantly raised. A cotemporary 
historian, speaking of this event, says : 

" This amazing unanimity of a people so divided amongst 
themselves as the Hungarians, especially in point of religion, 
could only be effected by the address of Maria Theresa, who 
seemed to possess one part of the character of Elizabeth of 
England, that of making every man about her a hero." 

Prince Charles re-crossed the Rhine, and, by a vigorous 
march through Suabia, returned to Bohemia. By surprise, 
with a vastly superior force, he assailed the fortresses garrisoned 
by the Prussian troops, gradually took one after another, and 
ere long drove the Prussians, with vast slaughter, out of the 
whole kingdom. Though disaster, in this campaign, followed 
the banners of Maria Theresa in the Netherlands and in Italy, 
she forgot those reverses in exultation at the discomfiture of 
her great rival Frederic. She had recovered Bohemia, and 
was now sanguine that she soon would regain Silesia, the loss 
of which province ever weighed heavily upon her heart. But 
in her character woman's weakness was allied with woman's 
determination. She imagined that she could rouse the chiv- 
alry of her allies as easily as that of the Hungarian barons, 
and that foreign courts, forgetful of their own grasping am- 
bition, would place themselves as pliant instruments in her 
hands. 

In this posture of affairs, the hand of Providence was again 
interposed, in an event which removed from the path of the 
queen a serious obstacle, and opened to her aspiring mind 
new visions of grandeur. The Emperor Charles VII., an 



MARIA THEEESA. 451 

amiable man, of moderate abilities, was quite crushed in spirit 
by the calamities accumulating upon him. Though he had 
regained his capital, he was in hourly peril of being driven 
from it again. Anguish so preyed upon his mind, that, pale 
and wan, he was thrown upon a sick bed. While in this 
state he was very injudiciously informed of a great defeat 
which his troops had encountered. It was a death-blow to 
the emperor. He moaned, turned over in his bed, and died, 
on the 20th of January, 1745. 

The imperial crown was thus thrown down among the 
combatants, and a scramble ensued for its possession such as 
Europe had never witnessed before. Every court was agi- 
tated, and the combinations of intrigue were as innumerable 
as were the aspirants for the crown. The spring of 1745 
opened with clouds of war darkening every quarter of the 
horizon. England opened the campaign in Italy and the 
Netherlands, her who»Ie object now being to humble France. 
Maria Theresa remained uncompromising in her disposition to 
relinquish nothing and to grasp every thing. The cabinet of 
England, with far higher views of policy, were anxious to de- 
tach some of the numerous foes combined against Austria; 
but it was almost impossible to induce the queen to make the 
slightest abatement of her desires. She had set her heart 
upon annexing all of Bavaria to her realms. That immense 
duchy, now a kingdom, was about the size of the State of 
South Carolina, containing over thirty thousand square miles. 
Its population amounted to about four millions. The death 
of the Emperor Charles VII., who was Elector of Bavaria, 
transmitted the sovereignty of this realm to his son, Maxi- 
milian Joseph. 

Maximilian was anxious to withdraw from the strife. He 
agreed to renounce all claim to the Austrian succession, to 
acknowledge the validity of the queen's title, to dismiss the 
auxiliary troops, and to give his electoral vote to the Duke of 
Lorraine for emperor. But so eager was the quee^i to grasp 



452 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

the Bavarian dominions, that it was with the utmost difficulty 
that England could induce her to accede even to these terms. 

It is humiliating to record the readiness of these old 
monarchies to sell themselves and their armies to any cause 
which would pay the price demanded. For seven hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars England purchased the alliance of 
Poland, and her army of thirty thousand men. Before the 
treaty was formally ratified, the Emperor Charles VII. died, 
and there were indications that Bavaria would withdraw from 
the French alliance. This alarmed the French ministry, and 
they immediately offered Poland a larger sum than England 
had proffered, to send her army to the French camp. The 
bargain was on the point of being settled, when England and 
Austria again rushed in, and whispered in the ear of Augustus 
that they intended to chastise the King of Prussia thoroughly, 
and that if Poland would help them, Poland should be re- 
warded with generous slices of the Prussian territory. This 
was a resistless bribe, and the Polish banners were borne i» 
the train of the Austrian alliance. 

The Duke of Lorraine was much annoyed by the imperial 
assumption of his wife. She was anxious to secure for him 
the crown of Germany, as adding to her power and grandeur. 
But Francis was still more anxious to attain that dignity, as 
his position in the court, as merely the docile subject of his 
wife, the queen, was exceedingly humiliating. The spring of 
1745 found all parties prepared for the renewal of the fight. 
The drama was opened by the terrible battle of Fontenoy 
in the Netherlands. On the 11th of May eighty thousand 
French met the Austrian allied army of fifty thousand. After 
a few hours of terrific slaughter the allies retreated, leaving 
the French in possession of the field. In Italy, also, the tide 
of war set against the queen. The French and Spaniards 
poured an army of seventy thousand men over the Alps into 
Italy. The queen, even with the aid of Sardinia, had no force 
capable of resisting them. The allies swept the country. 



MARIA THERESA. 453 

The King of Sardinia was driven behind the walls of his capi- 
tal. In this one short campaign Tortona, Placentia, Parma, 
Pavia, Cazale and Aste were wrested from the Austrians, and 
the citadels of Alexandria and Milan were blockaded. 

The queen had weakened her armies both in the Nether- 
lands and Italy that she migh accumulate a force sufficient to 
recover Silesia, and to crush, if possible, her great antagonist 
Frederic. Maria Theresa was greatly elated by her success 
in driving the Prussians from Bavaria, and Frederic was 
mortified and irritated by this first defeat of his arms. Thus 
animated, the one by hope, the other by vengeance, Maria and 
Frederic gathered all their resources for a trial of strength 
on the plains of Silesia. France, fully occupied in the Nether- 
lands and in Italy, could render Frederic no assistance. His 
prospects began to look dark. War had made sad ravages in 
his army, and he found much difficulty in filling up his wasted 
battalions. His treasury was exhausted. Still the indomita- 
ble monarch indulged in no emotions of dejection. 

Each party was fully aware of the vigilance and energy 
of its antagonist. Their forces were early in the field. The 
month of April was passed in stratagems and skirmishes, each 
endeavoring in vain to obtain some advantage over the other 
in position or combinations. Early in May there was a pretty 
severe conflict, in which the Prussians gained the advantage. 
They feigned, however, dejection and alarm, and apparently 
commenced a retreat. The Austrians, emboldened by this 
subterfuge, pursued them with indiscreet haste. Prince 
Charles pressed the retiring hosts, and followed closely after 
them through the passes of the mountains to Landshut and 
Friedburg. Frederic fled as if in a panic, throwing no ob- 
stacle in the path of his pursuers, seeming only anxious to 
gain the ramparts of Breslau. Suddenly the Prussians 
turned — the whole army being concentrated in columns of 
enormous strength. They had chosen their ground and. their 
hour. It wn.s before the break of day on the 3d of June, 



454 THE HOUSE OF AUSTKIA. 

among the hills of Hohenfriedberg. The Austrians were taker 
utterly by surprise. For seven hours they repelled the im- 
petuous onset of their foes. But when four thousand ot 
their number were mangled corpses, seven thousand captives 
in the hands of the enemy, seventy-six standards and sixty- 
six pieces of artillery wrested from them, the broken bands 
of the Austrians turned and fled, pursued and incessantly 
pelted by Frederic through the defiles of the mountains back 
to Bohemia. The Austrians found no rest till they had 
escaped beyond the Riesengeberg, and placed the waves of 
the Elbe between themselves and their pursuers. The Prus- 
sians followed to the opposite bank, and there the two armies 
remained for three months looking each other in the face. 

Frederic, having gained so signal a victory, again pro- 
posed peace. England, exceedingly desirous to detach from 
the allies so energetic a foe, urged the queen, in the strong- 
est terms, to accede to the overtures. The queen, however, 
never dismayed by adversity, still adhered to her resolve to 
reconquer Silesia. The English cabinet, finding Maria The- 
resa deaf to all their remonstrances and entreaties, endeavored 
to intimidate her by the threat of withdrawing their subsidies 

The English ambassador, Sir Thomas Robinson, with this 
object in view, demanded an audience with the queen. The 
interview, as he has recorded it, is worthy of preservation. 

" England," said the ambassador to the queen, " has this 
year furnished five million, three hundred and ninety-three 
thousand seven hundred and sixty-five dollars. The nation 
is not in a condition to maintain a superiority over the allies 
in the Netherlands, Italy and Silesia. It is, therefore, indis- 
pensable to diminish the force of the enemy. France can not 
be detached from the alliance. Prussia can be and must be. 
This concession England expects from Austria. What is to 
be done must be done immediately. The King of Prussia can 
not be driven from Bohemia this campaign. By making peace 
with him, and thus securing his voluntary withdrawal, your 



MARIA THERESA. 455 

majesty can send troops to the Netherlands, and check the 
rapid progress of the French, who now threaten the very ex- 
istence of England and Holland. If they fall, Austria must 
inevitably fall also. If peace can be made with Prussia 
France can be checked, and the Duke of Lorraine can be 
chosen emperor." 

" I feel exceedingly grateful," the queen replied, " to the 
king and the English nation, and am ready to show it in every 
way in my power. Upon this matter I will consult my minis- 
ters and acquaint you with my answer. But whatever may 
be the decision, I can not spare a man from the neighborhood 
of the King of Prussia. In peace, as well as in war, I need 
them all for the defense of my person and family." 

" It is affirmed," Sir Thomas Robinson replied, " that 
seventy thousand men are employed against Prussia. From 
such a force enough might be spared to render efficient aid in 
Italy and in the Netherlands." 

" I can not spare a man," the queen abruptly replied. 

Sir Thomas was a little touched, and with some spirit re- 
ioined, "If your majesty can not spare her troops for the 
general cause, England will soon find it necessary to with- 
draw her armies also, to be employed at home." 

This was a home thrust, and the queen felt it, and replied, 
" But why may we not as well detach France from the alli- 
ance, as Prussia ?" 

" Because Prussia," was the reply, " can be more easily in- 
duced to accede to peace, by allowing her to retain what she 
now has, than France can be induced to yield, by surrender- 
ing, as she must, large portions of her present acquisitions." 

" I must have an opportunity," Maria Theresa continued, 
" to strike Prussia another blow. Prince Charles has still 
enough men to give battle." 

" But should he be the victor in the battle," Sir Thomas 
replied, " Silesia is not conquered. And if the battle be lost, 
your majesty is well nigh ruined." 



456 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

" If I had determined," said the queen, " to make peace 
with Frederic to-morrow, I would give him battle to-night. 
But why in such a hurry ? Why this interruption of opera- 
tions which are by no means to be despaired of? Give me 
only to October, and then you may do as you please." 

" October will close this campaign," was the answer. " Our 
affairs are going so disastrously, that unless we can detach 
Prussia, by that time France and Prussia will be able to dic- 
tate terms to which we shall be compelled to accede." 

" That might be true," the queen replied, tartly, " if I were 
to waste my time, as you are urging me to do, in marching 
my troops from Bohemia to the Rhine, and from the Rhine 
to the Netherlands. But as for my troops, I have not a single 
general who would condescend to command such merely ma- 
chinery armies. As for the Duke of Lorraine, and my broth- 
er, Prince Charles, they shall not thus degrade themselves. 
The great duke is not so ambitious of an empty honor, much 
less to enjoy it under the patronage of Prussia. You speak 
of the imperial dignity ! Is it compatible with the loss of Si- 
lesia ? Great God ! give me only till October. I shall then 
at least be able to secure better conditions." 

The English ambassador now ventured, in guarded phrase, 
but very decisively, to inform the queen that unless she could 
accede to these views, England would be constrained to with- 
draw her assistance, and, making the best terms she could for 
herself with the enemy, leave Austria to fight her own bat- 
tles ; and that England requested an immediate and a specific 
answer. Even this serious menace did not move the inflexible 
will of the queen. She, with much calmness, replied, 

" It is that I might, with the utmost promptness, attend to 
this business, that I have given you so expeditious an audience, 
and that I have summoned my council to meet so early. I 
see, however, very clearly, that whatever may be my decisions, 
they will have but little influence upon measures which are to 
be adopted elsewhere." 



MARIA THEEESA. 457 

The queen convened her council, and then informed En- 
gland, in most courteous phrase, that she could not accede to 
the proposition. The British cabinet immediately entered into 
a private arrangement with Prussia, guaranteeing to Frederic 
the possession of Silesia, in consideration of Prussia's agree- 
ment not to molest England's Hanoverian possessions. 

Maria Theresa was exceedingly indignant when she be- 
came acquainted with this treaty. She sent peremptory orders 
to Prince Charles to prosecute hostilities with the utmost vigor, 
and with great energy dispatched reinforcements to his camp. 
The Hungarians, with their accustomed enthusiasm, flocked to 
the aid of the queen ; and Frederic, pressed by superior num- 
bers, retreated from Bohemia back to Silesia, pursued and 
pelted in his turn by the artillery of Prince Charles. But 
Frederic soon turned upon his foes, who almost surrounded 
him with double his own number of men. His army was 
compact and in the highest state of discipline. A scene of 
terrible carnage ensued, in which the Austrians, having lost 
four thousand in killed and two thousand taken prisoners, 
were utterly routed and scattered. The proud victor, gath- 
ering up his weakened battalions, one fourth of whom had 
been either killed or wounded in this short, fierce storm of 
war, continued his retreat unmolested. 

While Maria Theresa, with such almost superhuman in- 
flexibility, was pressing her own plans, the electoral diet of 
Germany was assembled at Frankfort, and Francis, Duke of 
Lorraine, was chosen emperor, with the title of Francis I. 
The queen was at Frankfort when the diet had assembled, and 
was plying all her energies in favor of her husband, while 
awaiting, with intense solicitude, the result of the election. 
When the choice was announced to her, she stepped out upon 
the balcony of the palace, and was the first to shout, " Long 
live the emperor, Francis I." The immense concourse assem- 
bled in the streets caught and reechoed the cry. This result 
was exceedingly gratifying to the queen ; she regarded it as a 

20 



458 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

noble triumph, adding to the power and the lustex of her 
house. 

The duke, now the emperor, was at Heidelberg, with an 
army of sixty thousand men. The queen hastened to him 
with her congratulations. The emperor, no longer a submis- 
sive subject, received his queenly spouse with great dignity at 
the head of his army. The whole host was drawn up in two 
lines, and the queen rode between, bowing to the regiments 
on the right hand and the left, with majesty and grace which 
all admired. 

Though the queen's treasury was so exhausted that she had 
been compelled to melt the church plate to pay her troops, she 
was now so elated that, regardless of the storms of winter, 
she resolved to send an army to Berlin, to chastise Frederic 
in his own capital, and there recover long lost Silesia. But 
Frederic was not thus to be caught napping. Informed of 
the plan, he succeeded in surprising the Austrian army, and 
dispersed them after the slaughter of five thousand men. The 
queen's troops, who had entered Silesia, were thus driven pell- 
mell back to Bohemia. The Prussian king then invaded Sax- 
ony, driving all before him. He took possession of the whole 
electorate, and entered Dresden, its capital, in triumph. This 
was a terrible defeat for the queen. Though she had often 
said that she would part with her last garment before she 
would consent to the surrender of Silesia, she felt now com- 
pelled to yield. Accepting the proffered mediation of England, 
on the 25th of December, 1745, she signed the treaty of Dres- 
den, by which she left Silesia in the hands of Frederic. He 
agreed to withdraw his troops from Saxony, and to acknowl- 
edge the imperial title of Francis I. 

England, in consequence of rebellion at home, had been 
compelled to withdraw her troops from the Netherlands ; and 
France, advancing with great vigor, took fortress after for- 
tress, until nearly all of the Low Countries had fallen into her 
hands. In Italy, however, the Austrians were successful, and 



MARIA THERESA. 459 

Maria Theresa, having dispatched thirty thousand troops to 
their aid, cherished sanguine hopes that she might recover 
Milan and Naples. All the belligerent powers, excepting 
Maria Theresa, weary of the long war, were anxious for peace. 
She, however, still clung, with deathless tenacity, to her de- 
termination to recover Silesia, and to win provinces in Italy. 
England and France were equally desirous to sheathe the 
sword. France could only attack England in the Netherlands; 
England could only assail France in her marine. They were 
both successful. France drove England from the continent ; 
England drove France from the ocean. 

Notwithstanding the most earnest endeavors of the allies, 
Maria Theresa refused to listen to any terms of peace, and 
succeeded in preventing the other powers from coming to any 
accommodation. All parties, consequently, prepared for an- 
other campaign. Prussia entered into an alliance with Aus- 
tria, by which she agreed to furnish her with thirty thousand 
troops. The queen made gigantic efforts to drive the French 
from the Netherlands. England and Holland voted an army 
of forty "thousand each. The queen furnished sixty thousand ; 
making an army of one hundred and forty thousand to oper- 
ate in the Netherlands. At the same time the queen sent 
sixty thousand men to Italy, to be joined by forty-five thou- 
sand Sardinians. All the energies of the English fleet were 
also combined with these formidable preparations. Though 
never before during the war had such forces been brought into 
the field, the campaign was quite disastrous to Austria and 
her allies. Many bloody battles were fought, and many thou- 
sands perished in agony ; but nothing of any importance was 
gained by either party. When winter separated the combat- 
ants, they retired exhausted and bleeding. 

Again France made overtures for a general pacification, 
on terms which were eminently honorable. England was dis- 
posed to listen to those terms. But the queen had not yet 
accomplished her purposes, and she succeeded in securing the 



460 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

rejection of the proposals. Again the belligerents gathered 
their resources, with still increasing vigor, for another cam- 
paign. The British cabinet seemed now to be out of all 
patience with Maria Theresa. They accused her of not sup- 
plying the contingents she had promised, they threatened to 
withhold their subsidies, many bitter recriminations passed, 
but still the queen, undismayed by the contentions, urged for- 
ward her preparations for the new campaign, till she was 
thunderstruck with the tidings that the preliminaries of peace 
were already signed by England, France and Holland. 

Maria Theresa received the first formal notification of the 
terms agreed to by the three contracting powers, from the 
English minister, Sir Thomas Robinson, who urged her con- 
currence in the treaty. The indignant queen could not refrain 
from giving free vent to her displeasure. Listening for a mo- 
ment impatiently to his words, she overwhelmed him with a 
torrent of reproaches. 

" You, sir," she exclaimed, " who had such a share in the 
sacrifice of Silesia ; you, who contributed more than any one 
in procuring the cessions to Sardinia, do you still think to per- 
suade me ? No ! I am neither a child nor a fool ! If you 
will have an instant peace, make it. I can negotiate for myself. 
Why am I always to be excluded from transacting my own 
business ? My enemies will give me better conditions than my 
friends. Place me where I was in Italy before the war ; but 
your King of Sardinia must have all, without one thought 
for me. This treaty was not made for me, but for him, for 
him singly. Great God, how have I been used by that court ! 
There is your King of Prussia I Indeed these circumstances 
tear open too many old wounds and create too many new ones. 
Agree to such a treaty as this !" she exclaimed indignantly. 
" No, no, I will rather lose my head." 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

MARIA THERESA. 

From 1148 to 1T59. 

Treaty of Peace.— Dissatisfaction of Maria Theresa. — Preparation for War. — 
eupture between england and austria. — maria theresa. — alliance with 
France. — Influence of Marchioness of Pompadour. — Bitter Eeproaches be- 
tween Austria and England. — Commencement of the Seven Years 1 War. — En- 
ergy of Frederic of Prussia. — Sanguinary Battles. — Vicissitudes of War. — 
Desperate Situation of Frederic— Elation of Maria Theresa. — Her ambi- 
tious Plans. — Awful Defeat of the Prussians at Berlin. 

NOTWITHSTANDING the bitter opposition of Maria 
Theresa to peace, the definitive treaty was signed at Aix- 
la-Chapelle on the 18th of October, 1748, by France, England 
and Holland. Spain and Sardinia soon also gave in their ad- 
hesion. The queen, finding it impossible to resist the deter- 
mination of the other powers, at length reluctantly yielded, 
and accepted the terms, which they were ready unitedly to 
enforce should she refuse to accede to them. By this treaty 
all the contracting powers gave their assent to the Pragmatic 
Sanction. The queen was required to surrender her con- 
quests in Italy, and to confirm her cessions of Silesia to Prus- 
sia. Thus terminated this long and cruel war. Though at 
the commencement the queen was threatened with utter de- 
struction, and she had come out from the contests with signal 
honor, retaining all her vast possessions, excepting Silesia and 
the Italian provinces, still she could not repress her chagrin. 
Her complaints were loud and reiterated. When the British 
minister requested an audience to congratulate her upon the 
return of peixe, she snappishly replied, 



462 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

**A visit of condolence would be more proper, under these 
circumstances, than one of congratulation. The British min- 
ister will oblige me by making no allusion whatever to so dis- 
agreeable a topic." 

The queen was not only well aware that this peace could 
not long continue, but was fully resolved that it should not be 
permanent. Her great rival, Frederic, had wrested from her 
Silesia, and she was determined that there should be no stable 
peace until she had regained it. With wonderful energy she 
availed herself of this short respite in replenishing her treasury 
and in recruiting her armies. Frederic himself has recorded 
the masculine vigor with which she prepared herself for the 
renewal of war. 

"Maria Theresa," he says, "in the secrecy of her cabinet, 
arranged those great projects which she afterwards carried 
into execution. She introduced an order and economy into 
the finances unknown to her ancestors ; and her revenues far 
exceeded those of her father, even when he was master of 
Naples, Parma, Silesia and Servia. Having learned the ne- 
cessity of introducing into her army a better discipline, she 
annually formed camps in the provinces, which she visited 
herself that she might animate the troops by her presence and 
bounty. She established a military academy at Vienna, and 
collected the most skillful professors of all the sciences and 
exercises which tend to elucidate or improve the art of war. 
By these institutions the army acquired, under Maria The- 
resa, such a degree of £>erfection as it had never attained 
under any of her predecessors ; and a woman accomplished 
designs worthy of a great man." 

The queen immediately organized a standing army of one 
hundred and eight thousand men, who were brought under 
the highest state of discipline, and were encamped in such 
positions that they could, at any day, be concentrated ready 
for combined action. The one great object which now seemed 
to engross her mind was the recovery of Silesia. It was, of 



MARIA THERESA. 463 

course, a subject not to be spoken of openly ; but in secret 
conference with her ministers she unfolded her plans and 
sought counsel. Her intense devotion to political affairs, 
united to a mind of great activity and native strength, soon 
placed her above her ministers in intelligence and sagacity ; 
and conscious of superior powers, she leaned less upon them, 
and relied upon her own resources. With a judgment thus 
matured she became convinced of the incapacity of her cabi- 
net, and with great skill in the discernment of character, chose 
Count Kaunitz, who was then her ambassador at Paris, prime 
minister. Kaunitz, son of the governor of Moravia, had given 
signal proof of his diplomatic abilities, in Rome and in Paris. 
For nearly forty years he remained at the head of foreign 
affairs, and, in conjunction with the queen, administered the 
government of Austria. 

Policy had for some time allied Austria and England, but 
there had never been any real friendship between the two 
cabinets. The high tone of superiority ever assumed by the 
court of St. James ; its offensive declaration that the arm of 
England alone had saved the house of Austria from utter ruin, 
and the imperious demand for corresponding gratitude, an- 
noyed and exasperated the proud court of Vienna. The 
British cabinet were frequently remonstrated with against 
the assumption of such airs, and the employment of language 
so haughty in their diplomatic intercourse. But the British 
government has never been celebrated for courtesy in its 
intercourse with weaker powers. The chancellor Kaunitz 
entreated them, in their communications, to respect the sex 
and temper of the queen, and not to irritate her by de- 
meanor so overbearing. The emperor himself entered a 
remonstrance against the discourtesy which characterized 
their intercourse. Even the queen, unwilling to break off 
friendly relations with her unpolished allies, complained to 
the British ambassador of the arrogant style of the English 
documents. 



464 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

"They do not," said the queen, "disturb me, but they 
give great offense to others, and endanger the amity existing 
between the two nations. I would wish that more courtesy 
might mark our intercourse." 

But the amenities of polished life, the rude islanders de- 
spised. The British ambassador at Vienna, Sir Robert Keith, 
a gentlemanly man, was often mortified at the messages he 
was compelled to communicate to the queen. Occasionally 
the messages were couched in terms so peremptory and offen- 
sive that he could not summon resolution to deliver them, and 
thus he more than once incurred the censure of the king and 
cabinet, for his sense of propriety and delicacy. These re- 
monstrances were all unavailing, and at length the Austrian 
cabinet began to reply with equal rancor. 

This state of things led the Austrian cabinet to turn to 
France, and seek the establishment of friendly relations with 
that court. Louis XV., the most miserable of debauchees, 
was nominally king. His mistress, Jeanette Poisson, who was 
as thoroughly polluted as her regal paramour, governed the 
monarch, and through him France. The king had ennobled 
her with the title of Marchioness of Pompadour. Her power 
was so boundless and indisputable that the most illustrious 
ladies of the French court were happy to serve as her waiting 
women. Whenever she walked out, one of the highest nobles 
of the realm accompanied her as her attendant, obsequiously 
bearing her shawl upon his arm, to spread it over her shoulders 
in case it should be needed. Ambassadors and ministers she 
summoned before her, assuming that air of royalty which she 
had purchased with her merchantable charms. Voltaire, 
Diderot, Montesquieu, waited in her ante- chambers, and im- 
plored her patronage. The haughty mistress became even 
weary of their adulation. 

"Not only," said she one day, to the Abbe de Bernis, 
" have I all the nobility at my feet, but even my lap-dog is 
wearj of their fawning." 



MARIA THERESA. 465 

With many apologies for requiring of the high-minded 
Maria Theresa a sacrifice, Kaunitz suggested to her the ex- 
pediency of cultivating the friendship of Pompadour. Silesia 
was engraved upon the heart of the queen, and she was pre- 
pared to do any thing which could aid her in the reconquest 
of that duchy. She stooped so low as to write a letter with 
her own hand to the marchioness, addressing her as "our 
dear friend and cousin." 

This was a new triumph for Pompadour, and it delighted 
her beyond measure. To have the most illustrious sovereign ot 
Europe, combining in her person the titles of Queen of Austria 
and Empress of Germany, solicit her friendship and her good 
offices, so excited the vanity of the mistress, that she became 
immediately the w 7 arm friend of Maria Theresa, and her all 
powerful advocate in the court of Versailles. England was 
now becoming embroiled with France in reference to the pos- 
sessions upon the St. Lawrence and Ohio in North America. 
In case of war, France would immediately make an attack 
upon Hanover. England was anxious to secure the Austrian 
alliance, that the armies of the queen might aid in the pro- 
tection of Hanover. But Austria, being now in secret con- 
ference with France, was very reserved. England coaxed and 
threatened, but could get no definite or satisfactory answer. 
Quite enraged, the British cabinet sent a final declaration that, 
" should the empress decline fulfilling the conditions required, 
the king can not take any measures in cooperation with Aus- 
tria, and the present system of European policy must be dis- 
solved." 

The reply of the empress queen develops the feelings ot 
irritation and bitterness which at that time existed between 
the two cabinets of Austria and England. 

" The queen," Maria Theresa replied, " has never had the 
satisfaction of seeing England do justice to her principles. If 
the army of Austria were merely the hired soldiers of En- 
gland, the British cabinet could not more decisively assume 
20* 



466 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

the control of their movements than it now does, by requiring 
their removal from the center of Austria, for the defense of 
England and Hanover. We are reproached with the great 
efforts England has made in behalf of the house of Austria. 
But to these efforts England owes its present greatness. If 
Austria has derived useful succors from England, she has pur- 
chased those succors with the blood and ruin of her subjects ; 
while England has been opening to herself new sources of 
wealth and power. We regret the necessity of uttering these 
truths in reply to unjust and unceasing reproaches. Could 
any consideration diminish our gratitude towards England, it 
would be thus diminished by her constant endeavor to repre- 
sent the aid she has furnished us as entirely gratuitous, when 
this aid has always been and always will be dictated by her 
own interests." 

Such goading as this brought back a roar. The British 
envoy was ordered to demand an explicit and categorical 
reply to the following questions : 

1. If the French attack Hanover, will the queen render 
England assistance ? 

2. What number of troops will she send ; and how soon 
will they be in motion to join the British and Hanoverian 
troops ? 

The Austrian minister, Kaunitz, evaded a reply, coldly an- 
swering, " Our ultimatum has been given. The queen deems 
those declarations as ample as can be expected in the pres- 
ent posture of affairs ; nor can she give any further reply 
till England shall have more fully explained her inten- 
tions." 

Thus repulsed, England turned to Prussia, and sought 
alliance with the most inveterate enemy of Austria. Fred- 
eric, fearing an assault from united Russia and Austria, 
eagerly entered into friendly relations with England, and on 
the 16th of January, 1756, entered into a treaty with the cabi- 
net of Great Britain for the defense of Hanover. 



MARIA THERESA. 467 

Maria Theresa was quite delighted with this arrangement, 
for affairs were moving much to her satisfaction at Versailles. 
Her " dear friend and cousin" Jeanette Poisson, had dismissed 
all the ministers who were unfriendly to Austria, and had 
replaced them with her own creatures who were in favor 
of the Austrian alliance. A double motive influenced the 
Marchioness of Pompadour. Her vanity was gratified by the 
advances of Maria Theresa, and revenge roused her soul 
against Frederic of Prussia, who had indulged in a cutting 
witticism upon her position and character. 

The marchioness, with one of her favorites, Cardinal Bernis, 
met the Austrian ambassador in one of the private apartments 
of the palace of the Luxembourg, and arranged the plan of 
the alliance between France and Austria. Maria Theresa, 
without the knowledge of her ministers, or even of her husband 
the emperor, privately conducted these negotiations with the 
Marchioness du Pompadour. M. Kaunitz was the agent em- 
ployed by the queen in this transaction. Louis XV., sunk in 
the lowest depths of debauchery, consented to any arrange- 
ments his mistress might propose. But when the treaty was 
all matured it became necessary to present it to the Council 
of State. The queen, knowing how astounded her husband 
would be to learn what she had been doing, and aware of the 
shock it would give the ministry to think of an alliance with 
France, pretended to entire ignorance of the measures she 
had been so energetically prosecuting. 

In very guarded and apologetic phrase, Kaunitz intro- 
duced the delicate subject. The announcement of the unex- 
pected alliance with France struck all with astonishment and 
indignation. Francis, vehemently moved, rose, and smiting 
the table with his hand, exclaimed, " Such an alliance is un- 
natural and impracticable — it never shall take place." The em- 
press, by nods and winks, encouraged her minister, and he went 
on detailing the great advantages to result from the French 
alliance. Muria Theresa listened with great attention to his 



4G8 THE HOUSE O* AUSTRIA. 

arguments, and was apparently convinced by them. She then 
gave her approbation so decisively as to silence *11 debate. 
She said that such a treaty was so manifestly for the interest 
of Austria, that she was fearful that France would not accede 
to it. Since she knew that the matter was already arranged 
and settled with the French court, this was a downright lie, 
though the queen probably regarded it as a venial fib, or as 
diplomacy. 

Thus curiously England and Austria had changed their 
allies. George II. and Frederic II., from being rancorous foes 
became friends, and Maria Theresa and Louis XV. unfurled 
their flags together. England was indignant with Austria for 
the French alliance, Austria was indignant with England for 
the Prussian alliance. Each accused the other of being the 
first to abandon the ancient treaty. As the British ambas- 
sador reproached the queen with this abandonment, she re- 
plied, 

"I have not abandoned the old system, but Great Britain 
has abandoned me and that system, by concluding the Prus- 
sian treaty, the first intelligence of which struck me like a fit 
of apoplexy. I and the King of Prussia are incompatible. 
No consideration on earth shall induce me to enter into any 
engagement to which he is a party. Why should you be sur- 
prised if, following your example in concluding a treaty with 
Prussia, I should enter into an engagement with France ?" 

"I have but two enemies," Maria Theresa said again, 
" whom I have to dread — the King of Prussia and the Turks. 
And while I and the Empress of Russia continue on the same 
good terms as now subsist between us, we shall, I trust, be 
able to convince Europe that we are in a condition to defend 
ourselves against those adversaries, however formidable." 

The queen still kept her eye anxiously fixed upon Silesia, 
and in secret combination with the Empress of Russia made 
preparation for a sudden invasion. With as much secrecy as 
was possible, large armies were congregated in the vicinity of 



MARIA THERESA. 469 

Prague, while Russia was cautiously concentrating her troops 
upon the frontiers of Livonia. But Frederic was on the alert, 
and immediately demanded of the empress queen the signifi- 
cance of these military movements. 

" In the present crisis," the queen replied, " I deem it 
necessary to take measures for the security of myself and my 
allies, which tend to the prejudice of no one." 

So vague an answer was of course unsatisfactory, and the 
haughty Prussian king reiterated his demand in very imperi- 
ous tones. 

"I wish," said he, "for an immediate and categorical 
answer, not delivered in an oracular style, ambiguous and 
inconclusive, respecting the armaments in Bohemia, and I 
demand a positive assurance that the queen will not attack 
me either during this or the following year." 

The answer returned by the queen to this demand was 
equally unsatisfactory with the first, and the energetic Prus- 
sian monarch, wasting no more words, instantly invaded 
Saxony with a powerful army, overran the duchy, and took 
possession of Dresden, its capital. Then wheeling his troops, 
with twenty-four thousand men he marched boldly into Bo- 
hemia. The queen dispatched an army of forty thousand to 
meet him. The fierce encounter took place at Lowositz, near 
the banks of the Elbe. The military genius of Frederic pre- 
vailed, and the Austrians were repulsed, though the slaughtei 
was about equal on each side, six thousand men, three thou- 
sand upon each side, being left in their blood. Frederic took 
possession of Saxony as a conquered province. Seventeen 
thousand soldiers, whom he made prisoners, he forced into his 
own service. Eighty pieces of cannon were added to his 
artillery train, and the revenues of Saxony replenished his 
purse. 

The anger of Maria Theresa, at this humiliation of her ally, 
was roused to the highest pitch, and she spent the winder in 
the most vigorous preparations for the campaign of the spring. 



470 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

She tooK advantage of religious fanaticism, and represented, 
through all the Catholic courts of Europe, that there was a 
league of the two heretical powers, England and Prussia,, 
against the faithful children of the Church. Jeanette Poisson, 
Marchioness of Pompadour, who now controlled the destinies 
of France, raised, for the service of Maria Theresa, an army 
of one hundred and five thousand men, paid all the expenses 
of ten thousand Bavarian troops, and promised the queen an 
annual subsidy of twelve millions of imperial florins. The 
emperor, regarding the invasion of Saxony as an insult to the 
empire, roused the States of Germany to cooperate with the 
queen. Europe was again ablaze with war. 

It was indeed a fearful combination now prepared to make 
a rush upon the King of Prussia. France had assembled 
eighty thousand men on the Rhine. The Swedes were rally- 
ing in great numbers on the frontiers of Pomerania. The 
Russians had concentrated an army sixty thousand strong on 
the borders of Livonia. And the Queen of Austria had one 
hundred and fifty thousand men on the march, through Hun- 
gary and Bohemia, to the frontiers of Silesia. Frederic, with 
an eagle eye, was watching all these movements, and was em- 
ploying all his amazing energies to meet the crisis. He re- 
solved to have the advantage of striking the first blow, and 
adopted the bold measure of marching directly into the heart 
of the Austrian States. To deceive the allies he pretended 
to be very much frightened, and by breaking down bridges 
and establishing fortresses seemed intent upon merely pre- 
senting a desperate defense behind his ramparts. 

Suddenly, in three strong, dense columns, Frederic burst 
into Bohemia and advanced, with rapid and resistless strides, 
towards Prague. The unprepared Austrian bands were 
driven before these impetuous assailants as chaff is dispersed 
by the whirlwind. With great precipitation the Austrian 
troops, from all quarters, fled to the city of Prague and rallied 
beneath its walls. Seventy thousand men were soon collected, 



MARIA THERESA. 471 

strongly intrenched behind ramparts, thrown up outside of 
the city, from which ramparts, in case of disaster, they could 
retire behind the walls and into the citadel. 

The king, with his army, came rushing on like the sweep 
of the tornado, and plunged, as a thunderbolt of war, into the 
camp of the Austrians. For a few hours the battle blazed as 
if it were a strife of demons — hell in high carnival. Eighteen 
thousand Prussians were mowed down by the Austrian bat- 
teries, before the fierce assailants could scale the ramparts. 
Then, with cimeter and bayonet, they took a bloody revenge. 
Eight thousand Austrians were speedily weltering in blood. 
The shriek of the battle penetrated all the dwellings in 
Prague, appalling every ear, like a wail from the world of 
woe. The routed Austrians, leaving nine thousand prisoners 
in the hands of Frederic, rushed through the gates into the 
city, while a storm of shot from the batteries on the walls 
drove back the pursuing Prussians. 

Prague, with the broken army thus driven within its walls, 
now contained one hundred thousand inhabitants. The city 
was totally unprepared for a siege. All supplies of food being 
cut off, the inhabitants were soon reduced to extreme suffer- 
ing. The queen was exceedingly anxious that the city should 
hold out until she could hasten to its relief. She succeeded 
in sending a message to the besieged army, by a captain of 
grenadiers, who contrived to evade the vigilance of the be- 
siegers and to gain entrance to the city. 

" I am concerned," said the empress, " that so many gen- 
erals, with so considerable a force, must remain besieged in 
Prague, but I augur favorably for the event. I can not too 
strongly impress upon your minds that the troops will incur 
everlasting disgrace should they not effect what the French 
in the last war performed with far inferior numbers. The 
honor of the whole nation, as well as that of the imperial 
arms, is interested in their present behavior. The security of 
Bohemia, of my other hereditary dominions, and of the Ger- 



472 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

man empire itse.f, depends on a gallant defense and the pres- 
ervation of Prague. 

" The army under the command of Marshal Daun is daily 
strengthening, and will soon be in a condition to raise the 
siege. The French are approaching with all diligence. The 
Swedes are marching to my assistance. In a short space of 
time affairs will, under divine Providence, wear a better 
aspect." 

The scene in Prague was awful. Famine strode through 
all the streets, covering the pavements with the emaciate 
corpses of the dead. An incessant bombardment was kept 
up from the Prussian batteries, and shot and shell were fall- 
ing incessantly, by day and by night, in every portion of the 
city. Conflagrations were continually blazing ; there was no 
possible place of safety ; shells exploded in parlors, in cham- 
bers, in cellars, tearing limb from limb, and burying the muti- 
lated dead beneath the ruins of their dwellings. The boom- 
ing of the cannon, from the distant batteries, was answered by 
the thunder of the guns from the citadel and the walls, and 
blended with all this uproar rose the uninterrupted shrieks of 
the wounded and the dying. The cannonade from the Prus- 
sian batteries was so destructive, that in a few days one quar- 
ter of the entire city was demolished. 

Count Daun, with sixty thousand men, was soon advancing 
rapidly towards Prague. Frederic, leaving a small force to 
continue the blockade of the city, marched with the remain- 
der of his troops to assail the Austrian general. They soon 
met, and fought for some hours as fiercely as mortals can 
fight. The slaughter on both sides was awful. At length the 
fortune of war turned in favor of the Austrians, though they 
laid down nine thousand husbands, fathers, sons, in bloody 
death, as the price of the victory. Frederic was almost 
frantic with grief and rage as he saw his proud battalions 
melting away before the batteries of the foe. Six times his 
cavalry charged with the utmost impetuosity, and six times 



MARIA THERESA. 4^3 

they were as fiercely repulsed. Frederic was finally compelled 
to withdraw, leaving fourteen thousand of his troops either 
slain or prisoners. Twenty-two Prussian standards and forty- 
three pieces of artillery were taken by the Austrians. 

The tidings of this victory elated Maria Theresa almost to 
delirium. Feasts were given, medals struck, presents given, 
and the whole empire blazed with illuminations, and rang with 
all the voices of joy. The queen even condescended to call 
in person upon the Countess Daun to congratulate her upon 
the great victory attained by her husband. She instituted, on 
the occasion, a new military order of merit, called the order 
of Maria Theresa. Count Daun and his most illustrious offi- 
cers were honored with the first positions in this new order of 
knighthood. 

The Prussians were compelled to raise the siege of Prague, 
and to retreat with precipitation. Bohemia was speedily 
evacuated by the Prussian troops. The queen was now deter- 
mined to crush Frederic entirely, so that he might never rise 
again. His kingdom was to be taken from him, carved up, 
and apportioned out between Austria, Sweden, Poland and 
liussia. 

The Prussians retreated, in a broken band of but twenty- 
five thousand men, into the heart of Silesia, to Breslau, its 
beautiful and strongly fortified capital. This city, situated upon 
the Oder, at its junction with the Ohlau, contained a popula- 
tion of nearly eighty thousand. The fugitive troops sought 
refuge behind its walls, protected as they were by batteries 
of the heaviest artillery. The Austrians, strengthened by the 
French, with an army now amounting to ninety thousand, fol- 
lowed closely on, and with their siege artillery commenced the 
cannonade of the city. An awful scene of carnage ensued, in 
which the Austrians lost eight thousand men and the Prus- 
sians five thousand, when the remnant of the Prussian garrison, 
retreating by night through a remote gate, left the city in the 
hands of the Austrians. 



474 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

It was now mid-winter. But the iron-nerved Frederic, 
undismayed by these terrible reverses, collected the scattered 
fragments of his army, and, finding himself at the head of 
thirty thousand men, advanced to Breslau in the desperate 
attempt to regain his capital. His force was so inconsidera- 
ble as to excite the ridicule of the Austrians. Upon the ap- 
proach of Frederic, Prince Charles, disdaining to hide behind 
the ramparts of the city on the defensive, against a foe thus 
insulting him with inferior numbers, marched to meet the 
Prussians. The interview between Prince Charles and Fred- 
eric was short but very decisive, lasting only from the hour of 
dinner to the going down of a December's sun. The twilight 
of the wintry day had not yet come when seven thousand 
Austrians were lying mangled in death on the blood-stained 
snow. Twenty thousand were made prisoners. All the bag- 
gage of the Austrian army, the military chest, one hundred 
and thirty-four pieces of cannon, and fifty-nine standards 
fell into the hands of the victors. For this victory Fred- 
eric paid the price of five thousand lives ; but life to the 
poor Prussian soldier must have been a joyless scene, and 
death must have been a relief. 

Frederic now, with triumphant banners, approached the 
city. It immediately capitulated, surrendering nearly eighteen 
thousand soldiers, six hundred and eighty-six officers and thir- 
teen generals as prisoners of war. In this one storm of battle, 
protracted through but a few days, Maria Theresa lost fifty 
thousand men. Frederic then turned upon the Russians, and 
drove them out of Silesia. The same doom awaited the 
Swedes, and they fled precipitately to winter quarters behind 
the cannon of Stralsund. Thus terminated the memorable 
campaign of 1757, the most memorable of the Seven Years' 
War. The Austrian army was almost annihilated ; but the 
spirit of the strife was not subdued in any breast. 

The returning sun of spring was but the harbinger of new 
woes for war-stricken Europe. England, being essentially a 



MARIA THEBES A. 47b 

maritime power, could render Frederic but little assistance 
in troops ; but the cabinet of St. James was lavish in voting 
money. Encouraged by the vigor Frederic had shown, the 
British cabinet, with enthusiasm, voted him an annual subsidy 
of three million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

Austria was so exhausted in means and in men, that not- 
withstanding the most herculean efforts of the queen, it was 
not until April of the year 1758 that she was able to concen- 
trate fifty thousand men in the field, with the expensive equip- 
ments which war demands. Frederic, aided by the gold of 
England, was early on the move, and had already opened the 
campaign by the invasion of Moravia, and by besieging 01- 
mutz. 

The summer was passed in a series of incessant battles, 
sweeping all over Germany, with the usual vicissitudes of war. 
In the great battle of Hockkirchen Frederic encountered a 
woful defeat. The battle took place on the 14th of October, 
and lasted five hours. Eight thousand Austrians and nine 
thousand Prussians were stretched lifeless upon the plain. 
Frederic was at last compelled to retreat, abandoning his 
tents, his baggage, one hundred and one cannon, and thirty 
standards. Nearly every Prussian general was wounded. 
The king himself was grazed by a ball ; his horse was shot 
from under him, and two pages were killed at his side. 

Again Vienna blazed with illuminations and rang with re- 
joicing, and the queen liberally dispensed her gifts and her 
congratulations. Still nothing effectual was accomplished by 
all this enormous expenditure of treasure, this carnage and 
woe ; and again the exhausted combatants retired to seek 
shelter from the storms of winter. Thus terminated the third 
year of this cruel and wasting war. 

The spring of 1759 opened brightly for Maria Theresa. 
Her army, flushed by the victory of the last autumn, was in 
high health and spirits. All the allies of Austria redoubled 
their exertions ; and the Catholic States of Germany with re- 



476 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

ligious zeal rallied against the two heretical kingdoms of 
Prussia and England. The armies of France, Austria, Swe- 
den and Russia were now marching upon Prussia, and it 
seemed impossible that the king could withstand such adver- 
saries. More fiercely than ever the storm of war raged. 
Frederic, at the head of forty thousand men, early in June 
met eighty thousand Russians and Austrians upon the banks 
of the Oder, near Frankfort. For seven hours the action 
lasted, and the allies were routed with enormous slaughter ; 
but the king, pursuing his victory too far with his exhausted 
troops, was turned upon by the foe, and w r as routed himself 
in turn, with the slaughter of one half of his whole army. 
Twenty-four thousand of the allies and twenty thousand Prus- 
sians perished on that bloody day. 

Frederic exposed his person with the utmost recklessness. 
Two horses were shot beneath him ; several musket balls 
pierced his clothes ; he was slightly wounded, and was rescued 
from the foe only by the almost superhuman exertions of his 
hussars. In the darkness of the night the Prussians secured 
their retreat. 

We have mentioned that at first Frederic seemed to have 
gained the victory. So sanguine was he then of success that 
he dispatched a courier from the field, with the following bil- 
let to the queen at Berlin : — 

" We have driven the enemy from their intrenchments ; 
in two hours expect to hear of a glorious victory." 

Hardly two hours had elapsed ere another courier was sent 
to the queen with the following appalling message : — 

"Remove from Berlin with the royal family. Let the 
archives be carried to Potsdam, and the capital make condi- 
tions with the enemy." 

In this terrible battle the enemy lost so fearfully that no 
effort was made to pursue Frederic. Disaster never disheart- 
ened the Prussian king. It seemed but to rouse anew his 
energies. With amazing vigor he rallied his scattered forces, 



MARIA THERESA. 477 

and called in reenforeeinents. The gold of England was at 
his disposal ; he dismantled distant fortresses and brought 
their cannon into the field, and in a few days was at the head 
of twenty-eight thousand men, beneath the walls of his capital, 
ready again to face the foe. 

The thunderings of battle continued week after week, in 
unintermitted roar throughout nearly all of Germany. Winter 
again came. Frederic had suffered awfully during the cam- 
paign, but was still unsubdued. The warfare was protracted 
even into the middle of the winter. The soldiers, in the fields, 
wading through snow a foot deep, suffered more from fam- 
ine, frost and sickness than from the bullet of the foe. In the 
Austrian army four thousand died, in sixteen days of Decem- 
ber, from the inclemency of the weather. Thus terminated 
the campaign of 1759. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

MARIA THERESA. 
From 1759 to l^O. 

Desolations of "War.— Disasters of Prussia.— Despondency of Frederic— Death 
of the Empress Elizabeth. — Accession of Paul III. — Assassination of Paul 
III.— Accession of Catharine. — Discomfiture of the Austrians. — Treaty of 
Peace. — Election of Joseph to the Throne of the Empire. — Death of Francis. 
— Character of Francis.— Anecdotes. — Energy of Maria Theresa.— Poniatow- 
ski. — Partition of Poland. — Maria Theresa as a Mother.— War with Bava- 
ria.— Peace. — Death of Maria Theresa.— Family of the Empress.— Accesssion 
of Joseph II. — His Character. 

rTlIIE spring of 1760 found all parties eager for the renewal 
-*- of the strife, but none more so than Maria Theresa. The 
King of Prussia was, however, in a deplorable condition. 
The veteran array, in which he had taken so much pride, was 
now annihilated. With despotic power he had assembled a 
new army; but it was composed of peasants, raw recruits, but 
poorly prepared to encounter the horrors of war. The allies 
were marching against him with two hundred and fifty thou- 
sand men. Frederic, with his utmost efforts, could muster 
but seventy-five thousand, who, to use his own language, 
" were half peasants, half deserters from the enemy, soldiers 
no longer fit for service, but only for show." 

Month after month passed away, during which the whole of 
Prussia presented the aspect of one wide field of battle. Fred- 
eric fought with the energies of desperation. Villages were 
everywhere blazing, squadrons charging, and the thunders of 
an incessant cannonade deafened the ear by night and by day. 
On the whole the campaign terminated in favor of Frederic; 
the allies being thwarted in all their endeavors to crush him. 
In one battle Maria Theresa lost twenty thousand men. 



MARIA THERESA. 479 

During the ensuing winter all the continental powers were 
again preparing for the resumption of hostilities in the spring, 
when the British people, weary of the enormous expenditures 
of the war, began to be clamorous for peace. The French 
treasury was also utterly exhausted. France made overtures 
to England for a cessation of hostilities ; and these two pow- 
ers, with peaceful overtures, addressed Maria Theresa. The 
queen, though fully resolved to prosecute the war until she 
should attain her object, thought it not prudent to reject 
outright such proposals, but consented to the assembling of a 
congress at Augsburg. Hostilities were not suspended during 
the meeting of the congress, and the Austrian queen was san- 
guine in the hope of being speedily able to crush her Prussian 
rival. Every general in the field had experienced such terri- 
ble disasters, and the fortune of war seemed so fickle, now 
lighting upon one banner and now upon another, that all 
parties were wary, practicing the extreme of caution, and 
disposed rather to act upon the defensive. Though not a 
single pitched battle was fought, the allies, outnumbering the 
Prussians, three to one, continually gained fortresses, in- 
trenchments and positions, until the spirit even of Frederic 
was broken by calamities, and he yielded to despair. He no 
longer hoped to be able to preserve his empire, but proudly 
resolved to bury himself beneath its nuns. His despondency 
could not be concealed from his army, and his bravest troops 
declared that they could fight no longer. 

Maria Theresa was elated beyond measure. England was 
withdrawing from Prussia. Frederic was utterly exhausted 
both as to money and men ; one campaign more would finish 
the work, and Prussia would lie helpless at the feet of Maria 
Theresa, and her most sanguine anticipations w r ould be re- 
alized. But the deepest laid plans of man are often thwarted 
by apparently the most trivial events. One single individual 
chanced to be taken sick and die. That individual was Eliza 
beth, the Empress of Russia. On the 5th of January, 1762, 



480 THE HOUSE OP ATJSTBIA. 

she was lying upon her bed an emaciate suffering woman, 
gasping in death. The departure of her last breath changed 
the fate of Europe. 

Paul III., her nephew, who succeeded the empress, de- 
tested Maria Theresa, and often inveighed bitterly against her 
haughtiness and her ambition. On the contrary, he admired 
the King of Prussia. He had visited the court of Berlin, 
where he had been received with marked attention ; and 
Frederic was his model of a hero. He had watched with en- 
thusiastic admiration the fortitude and military prowess of the 
Prussian king, and had even sent to him many messages of 
sympathy, and had communicated to him secrets of the cabi- 
net and their plans of operation. Now, enthroned as Emperor 
of Russia, without reserve he avowed his attachment to Fred- 
eric, and ordered his troops to abstain from hostilities, and 
to quit the Austrian army. At the same time he sent a min- 
ister to Berlin to conclude an alliance with the hero he so 
greatly admired. He even asked for himself a position in the 
Prussian army as lieutenant under Frederic. 

The Swedish court was so intimately allied with that of 
St. Petersburg, that the cabinet of Stockholm also withdrew 
from the Austrian alliance, and thus Maria Theresa, at a blow, 
lost two of her most efficient allies. The King of Prussia 
rose immediately from his despondency, and the whole king- 
dom shared in his exultation and his joy. The Prussian 
troops, in conjunction with the Russians, were now superior 
to the Austrians, and were prepared to assume the offensive. 
But again Providence interposed. A conspiracy was formed 
against the Russian emperor, headed by his wife whom he 
had treated with great brutality, and Paul III. lost both his 
crown and his life, in July 1762, after a reign of less than six 
months. 

Catharine II., wife of Paul III., with a bloody hand took 
the crown from the brow of her murdered husband and 
placed it upon her own head. She immediately dissolved the 



MARIA THERESA. 481 

Prussian alliance, declared Frederic an enemy to the Prussian 
name, and ordered her troops, in cooperation with those of 
Austria, to resume hostilities against Frederic. It was an in- 
stantaneous change, confounding all the projects of man. The 
energetic Prussian king, before the Russian troops had time 
so to change their positions as to cooperate with the Aus- 
trian s, assailed the troops of Maria Theresa with such im- 
petuosity as to drive them out of Silesia. Pursuing his ad- 
vantage Frederic overran Saxony, and then turning into 
Bohemia, drove the Austrians before him to the walls of 
Prague. Influenced by these disasters and other considera- 
tions, Catharine decided to retire from the contest. At the 
same time the Turks, excited by Frederic, commenced anew 
their invasion of Hungary. Maria Theresa was in dismay. 
Her money was gone. Her allies were dropping from her. 
The Turks were advancing triumphantly up the Danube, and 
Frederic was enriching himself with the spoils of Saxony and 
Bohemia. Influenced by these considerations she made over- 
tures for peace, consenting to renounce Silesia, for the re- 
covery of which province she had in vain caused Europe to be 
desolated with blood for so many years. A treaty of peace 
was soon signed, Frederic agreeing to evacuate Saxony ; and 
thus terminated the bloody Seven Years' War. 

Maria Theresa's eldest son Joseph was now twenty-three 
years of age. Her influence and that of the Emperor Francis 
was such, that they secured his election to succeed to the 
throne of the empire upon the death of his father. The 
emperor elect received the title of King of the Romans. The 
important election took place at Frankfort, on the 27th of 
May, 1764. The health of the Emperor Francis I., had for 
some time been precarious, he being threatened with apoplexy. 
Three months after the election of his son to succeed him upon 
the imperial throne, Francis was at Inspruck in the Tyrol, to 
attend the nuptials of his second son Leopold, with Maria 
Louisa, infanta of Sj)ain. He was feeble and dejected, and 

21 



482 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

longed to return to his home in Vienna. He imagined that 
the bracing air of the Tyrol did not agree with his health, and 
looking out upon the summits which tower around Inspruck 
exclaimed, 

" Oh ! if I could but once quit these mountains of the 
Tyrol." 

On the morning of the 18th of August, his symptoms as- 
sumed so threatening a form, that his friends urged him to be 
bled. The emperor declined, saying, 

" I am engaged this evening to sup with Joseph, and I 
will not disappoint him ; but I will be blooded to-morrow." 

The evening came, and as he was preparing to go and sup 
with his son, he dropped instantly dead upon the floor. Fifty- 
eight years was his allotted pilgrimage — a pilgimage of care 
and toil and sorrow. Even when elevated to the imperial 
throne, his position was humiliating, being ever overshadowed 
by the grandeur of his wife. At times he felt this most 
keenly, and could not refrain from giving imprudent utterance 
to his mortification. Being at one time present at a levee, 
which the empress was giving to her subjects, he retired, in 
chagrin, from the imperial circle into a corner of the saloon, 
and took his seat near two ladies of the court. They im- 
mediately, in accordance with regal etiquette, rose. 

" Do not regard me," said the emperor bitterly, and yet 
with an attempt at playfulness, " for I shall remain here until 
the court has retired, and shall then amuse myself in contem- 
plating the crowd." 

One of the ladies replied, " As long as your imperial ma- 
jesty is present the court will be here." 

" You are mistaken," rejoined the emperor, with a forced 
smile ; " the empress and my children are the court. I am 
here only as a private individual." 

Francis I., though an impotent emperor, would have made 
a very good exchange broker. He seemed to be fond of 
mercantile life, establishing manufactories, and letting out 



MARIA THERESA. 483 

money on bond and mortgage. When the queen was greatly- 
pressed for funds he would sometimes accept her paper, 
always taking care to obtain the most unexceptionable security. 
He engaged in a partnership with two very efficient men for 
farming the revenues of Saxony. He even entered into a con- 
tract to supply the Prussian army with forage, when that 
army was expending all its energies, during the Seven Years' 
War, against the troops of Maria Theresa. He judged that 
his wife was capable of taking care of herself. And she was. 
Notwithstanding these traits of character, he was an exceed- 
ingly amiable and charitable man, distributing annually five 
hundred thousand dollars for the relief of distress. Many 
anecdotes are related illustrative of the emperor's utter fear- 
lessness of danger, and of the kindness of his heart. There 
was a terrible conflagration in Vienna. A saltpeter magazine 
was in flames, and the operatives exposed to great danger. 
An explosion was momentarily expected, and the firemen, in 
dismay, ventured but little aid. The emperor, regardless of 
peril, approached near the fire to give directions. His attend- 
ants urged him not thus to expose his person. 

" Do not be alarmed for me," said the emperor, " think only 
of those poor creatures who are in such danger of perishing." 

At another time a fearful inundation swept the valley of 
the Danube. Many houses were submerged in isolated po- 
sitions, all but their roofs. In several cases the families had 
taken refuge on the tops of the houses, and had remained 
three days and three nights without food. Immense blocks of 
ice, swept down by the flood, seemed to render it impossible 
to convey relief to the sufferers. The most intrepid boatmen 
of the Danube dared not venture into the boiling surge. The 
emperor threw himself into a boat, seized the oars, and saying, 
" My example may at least influence others," pushed out into 
the flood and successfully rowed to one of the houses. The 
boatmen were shamed into heroism, and the imperiled people 
were saved. 



484 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Maria Theresa does not appear to have been very deeply 
afflicted by the death of her husband; or we should, perhaps, 
rather say that her grief assumed the character which one 
would anticipate from a person of her peculiar frame of mind. 
The emperor had not been faithful to his kingly spouse, and 
she was well acquainted with his numerous infidelities. Still 
she seems affectionately to have cherished the memory of his 
gentle virtues. With her own hands she prepared his shroud, 
and she never after laid aside her weeds of mourning. She 
often descended into the vault where his remains were depos- 
ited, and passed hours in prayer by the side of his coffin. 

Joseph, of course, having been preelected, immediately 
assumed the imperial crown. Maria Theresa had but little 
time to devote to grief. She had lost Silesia, and that was a 
calamity apparently far heavier than the death of her husband. 
Millions of treasure, and countless thousands of lives had been 
expended, and all in vain, for the recovery of that province. 
She now began to look around for territory she could grasp 
in compensation for her loss. Poland was surrounded by 
Austria, Russia and Prussia. The population consisted of 
two classes — the nobles who possessed all the power, and the 
people who were in a state of the most abject feudal vassalage. 
By the laws of Poland every person was a noble who was not 
engaged in any industrial occupation and who owned any land, 
or who had descended from those who ever had held any land. 
The government was what may perhaps be called an aristo- 
cratic republic. The masses were mere slaves. The nobles 
were in a state of political equality. They chose a chieftain 
whom they called king, but whose power was a mere shadow. 
At this time Poland was in a state of anarchy. Civil war 
desolated the kingdom, the nobles being divided into nume- 
rous factions, and fighting fiercely against each other. Catha- 
rine, the Empress of Russia, espoused the cause of her favor- 
ite, Count Poniatowski, who was one of the candidates for 
the crown of Poland, and by the influence of her money 



MARIA THEEESA. 485 

and her armies placed him upon the throne and maintained 
him there. Poland thus, under the influence of the Russian 
queen, became, as it were, a mere province of the Russian 
empire. 

Poniatowski, a proud man, soon felt galled by the chains 
which Catharine threw around him. Frederic of Prussia 
united with Catharine in the endeavor to make Poniatowski 
subservient to their wishes. Maria Theresa eagerly put in 
her claim for influence in Poland. Thus the whole realm 
became a confused scene of bloodshed and devastation. 
Frederic of Prussia, the great regal highwayman, now pro- 
posed to Austria and Russia that they should settle all the 
difficulty by just dividing Poland between them. To their 
united armies Poland could present no resistance. Maria 
Theresa sent her dutiful son Joseph, the emperor, to Silesia, 
to confer with Frederic upon this subject. The interview 
took place at Neiss, on the 25th of August, 1769. The two 
sovereigns vied with each other in the interchange of courte- 
sies, and parted most excellent friends. Soon after, they held 
another interview at Neustadt, in Moravia, when the long 
rivalry between the houses of Hapsburg and Brandenburg 
seemed to melt down into most cordial union. The map of 
Poland was placed before the two sovereigns, and they 
marked out the portion of booty to be assigned to each of the 
three imperial highwaymen. The troops of Russia, Austria 
and Prussia were already in Poland. The matter being thus 
settled between Prussia and Austria, the Prussian king im- 
mediately conferred with Catharine at St. Petersburg. This 
ambitious and unprincipled woman snatched at the bait pre- 
sented, and the infamous partition was agreed to. Maria 
Theresa was very greedy, and demanded nearly half of Poland 
as her share. This exorbitant claim, which she with much 
pertinacity adhered to, so offended the two other sovereigns 
that they came near fighting about the division of the spoil. 
The queen was at length compelled to lower her pretensions. 



48G THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

The final treaty was signed between the three powers on the 
5th of August, 1772. 

The three armies were immediately put in motion, and 
each took possession of that portion of the Polish territory 
which was assigned to its sovereign. In a few days the deed 
was done. By this act Austria received an accession of 
twenty-seven thousand square miles of the richest of the 
Polish territory, containing a population of two million five 
hundred thousand souls. Russia received a more inhospitable 
region, embracing forty-two thousand square miles, and a 
population of one million five hundred thousand. The share 
of Frederic amounted to thirteen thousand three hundred and 
seventy-five square miles, and eight hundred and sixty thou- 
sand souls. 

Notwithstanding this cruel dismemberment, there was 
still a feeble Poland left, upon which the three powers were 
continually gnawing, each watching the others, and snarling 
at them lest they should get more than their share. After 
twenty years of jealous watchings the three powers decided 
to finish their infamous work, and Poland was blotted from 
the map of Europe. In the two divisions Austria received 
forty-five thousand square miles and five million of inhabit- 
ants. Maria Theresa was now upon the highest pinnacle of 
her glory and her power. She had a highly disciplined army 
of two hundred thousand men ; her treasury was replenished, 
and her wide-spread realms were in the enjoyment of peace. 
Life had been to her, thus far, but a stormy sea, and weary 
of toil and care, she now hoped to close her days in tranquil- 
lity. 

The queen was a stern and stately mother. While pressed 
by all these cares of state, sufficient to have crushed any ordi- 
nary mind, she had given birth to sixteen children. But as 
each child was born it was placed in the hands of careful 
nurses, and received but little of parental caressings. It was 
seldom that she saw her children more than once a week. 



MARIA THERESA. 487 

Absorbed by high political interests, she contented herselt 
with receiving a daily report from the nursery. Every morn- 
ing her physician, Van Swieter, visited the young imperial 
family, and then presented a formal statement of their con- 
dition to the strong-minded mother. Yet the empress was 
very desirous of having it understood that she was the most 
faithful of parents. Whenever any foreign ambassador ar- 
rived at Vienna, the empress would contrive to have an inter- 
view, as it were by accident, when she had collected around 
her her interesting family. As the illustrious stranger retired 
the children also retired to their nursery. 

One of the daughters, Josepha, was betrothed to the King 
of Naples. A few days before she was to leave Vienna the 
queen required her, in obedience to long established etiquette, 
to descend into the tomb of her ancestors and offer up a 
prayer. The sister-in-law, the Emperor Joseph's wife, had 
iust died of the small-pox, and her remains, disfigured by that 
awful disease, had but recently been deposited in the tomb. 
The timid maiden was horror-stricken at the requirement, 
and regarded it as her death doom. But an order from 
Maria Theresa no one was to disobey. With tears filling her 
eyes, she took her younger sister, Maria Antoinette, upon her 
knee, and said, 

" I am about to leave you, Maria, not for Naj^les, but to 
die. I must visit the tomb of our ancestors, and I am sure 
that I shall take the small-pox, and shall soon be buried 
there." Her fears were verified. The disease, in its most 
virulent form, seized her, and in a few days her remains were 
also consigned to the tomb. 

In May, 1770, Maria Antoinette, then but fifteen years of 
age, and marvelously beautiful, was married to the young 
dauphin of France, subsequently the unhappy Louis XVI. 
As she left Vienna, for that throne from which she was to de- 
scend to the guillotine, her mother sent by her hand the fol- 
lowing letter to her husband : 



488 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

" Your bride, dear dauphin, is separated from me. As she 
has ever been my delight so will she be your happiness. For 
this purpose have I educated her ; for I have long been aware 
that she was to be the companion of your life. I have en- 
joined upon her, as among her highest duties, the most tender 
attachment to your person, the greatest attention to every 
thing that can please or make you happy. Above all, I have 
recommended to her humility towards God, because I am con- 
vinced that it is impossible for us to contribute to the happi- 
ness of the subjects conhded to us, without love to Him who 
breaks the scepters and crushes the thrones of kings accord- 
ing to His own will." 

In December, 1777, the Duke of Bavaria died without 
male issue. Many claimants instantly rose, ambitious of so 
princely an inheritance. Maria Theresa could not resist the 
temptation to put in her claim. With her accustomed prompt- 
ness, she immediately ordered her troops in motion, and, de- 
scending from Bohemia, entered the electorate. Maria The- 
resa had no one to fear but Frederic of Prussia, who vehe- 
mently remonstrated against such an accession of power to 
the empire of Austria. After an earnest correspondence the 
queen proposed that Bavaria should be divided between them 
as they had partitioned Poland. Still they could not agree, 
and the question was submitted to the cruel arbitrament of 
battle. The young Emperor Joseph was much pleased with 
this issue, for he was thirsting for military fame, and was 
proud to contend with so renowned an antagonist. The 
death of hundreds of thousands of men in the game of war, 
was of little more moment to him than the loss of a few 
pieces in a game of chess. 

The Emperor Joseph was soon at the head of one hundred 
thousand men. The King of Prussia, with nearly an equal 
force, marched to meet him. Both commanders were exceed- 
ingly wary, and the whole campaign was passed in maneu- 
ver and marchings, with a few unimportant battles. The 



MAEIA THEEESA. 489 

queen was weary of war, and often spoke, with tears in hei 
eyes, of the commencement of hostilities. Without the 
knowledge of her son, who rejoiced in the opening strife, she 
entered into a private correspondence with Frederic, in which 
she wrote, by her secret messenger, M. Thugut : 

" I regret exceedingly that the King of Prussia and my- 
self, in our advanced years, are about to tear the gray hairs 
from each other's heads. My age, and my earnest desire to 
maintain peace are well known. My maternal heart is alarmed 
for the safety of my sons who are in the army. I take this 
step without the knowledge of my son the emperor, and I en- 
treat that you will not divulge it. I conjure you to unite 
your efforts with mine to reestablish harmony." 

The reply of Frederic was courteous and beautiful. 
" Baron Thugut," he wrote, " has delivered me your ma- 
jesty's letter, and no one is, or shall be acquainted with his 
arrival. It was worthy of your majesty to give such proofs 
of moderation, after having so heroically maintained the in- 
heritance of your ancestors. The tender attachment you dis- 
play for your son the emperor, and the princes of your blood, 
deserves the applause of every heart, and augments, if possi- 
ble, the high consideration I entertain for your majesty. I 
have added some articles to the propositions of M. Thugut, 
most of which have been allowed, and others which, I hope, 
will meet with little difficulty. He will immediately depart 
for Vienna, and will be able to return in five or six days, dur- 
ing which time I will act with such caution that your im- 
perial majesty may have no cause of apprehension for the 
safety of any part of your family, and particularly of the em- 
peror, whom I love and esteem, although our opinions differ 
in regard to the affairs of Germany." 

But the Emperor Joseph was bitterly opposed to peace, 
and thwarted his mother's benevolent intentions in every pos- 
sible way. Still the empress succeeded, and the articles were 
signed at Teschen, the 13th day of May, 1779. The queen 

21* 



490 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

was overjoyed at the result, and was often heard to say that 
no act of her administration had given her such heartfelt joy. 
When she received the news she exclaimed, 

" My happiness is full. I am not partial to Frederic, but 
I must do him the justice to confess that he has acted nobly 
and honorably. He promised me to make peace on reason- 
able terms, and he has kept his word. I am inexpressibly 
happy to spare the effusion of so much blood." 

The hour was now approaching when Maria Theresa was 
to die. She had for some time been failing from a disease of 
the lungs, and she was now rapidly declining. Her sufferings, 
as she took her chamber and her bed, became very severe ; 
but the stoicism of her character remained unshaken. In one 
of her seasons of acute agony she exclaimed, 

" God grant that these sufferings may soon terminate, for, 
otherwise, I know not if I can much longer endure them." 

Her son Maximilian stood by her bed side. She raised her 
eyes to him and said, 

" I have been enabled thus far to bear these pangs with 
firmness and constancy. Pray to God, my son, that I may 
preserve my tranquillity to the last." 

The dying hour, long sighed for, came. She partook of 
the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and then, assembling her 
family around her, addressed to them her last words. 

" I have received the sacraments," said she, " and feel that 
I am now to die." Then addressing the emperor, she con- 
tinued, " My son, all my possessions after my death revert to 
you. To your care I commend my children. Be to them a 
father. I shall die contented, you giving me that promise." 
Then looking to the other children she added, " Regard the 
emperor as your sovereign. Obey him, respect him, confide 
in him, and follow his advice in all things, and you will secure 
his friendship and protection." 

Her mind continued active and intensely occupied with the 
affairs of her family and of her kingdom, until the very last 



MARIA THEEESA. 491 

moment. During the night succeeding her final interview 
with her children, though suffering from repeated fits of suffo- 
cation, she held a long interview with the emperor upon affairs 
of state. Her son, distressed by her evident exhaustion, en- 
treated her to take some repose ; but she replied, 

" In a few hours I shall appear before the judgment-seat 
of God ; and would you have me lose my time in sleep ?" 

Expressing solicitude in behalf of the numerous persons 
dependent upon her, who, after her death, might be left friend- 
less, she remarked, 

" I could wish for immortality on earth, for no other 
reason than for the power of relieving the distressed." 

She died on the 29th of November, 1780, in the sixty- 
fourth year of her age and the forty-first of her reign. 

This illustrious woman had given birth to six sons and 
ten daughters. Nine of these children survived her. Joseph, 
already emperor, succeeded her upon the throne of Austria, 
and dying childless, surrendered the crown to his next brother 
Leopold. Ferdinand, the third son, became governor of Aus- 
trian Lombardy. Upon Maximilian was conferred the elec- 
torate of Cologne. Mary Anne became abbess of a nunnery. 
Christina married the Duke of Sa cony. Elizabeth entered a 
convent and became abbess. Caroline married the King of 
Naples, and was an infamous woman. Her sister Joanna, was 
first betrothed to the king, but she died of small-pox; 
Josepha was then destined to supply her place ; but she also 
fell a victim to that terrible disease. Thus the situation was 
vacant for Caroline. Maria Antoinette married Louis the 
dauphin, and the story of her woes has filled the world. 

The Emperor Joseph II., who now inherited the crown of 
Austria, was forty years of age, a man of strong mind, edu- 
cated by observation and travel, rather than by books. He 
was anxious to elevate and educate his subjects, declaring that 
it was his great ambition to rule over freemen. He had many 
noble traits of character, and innumerable anecdotes are re- 



492 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

lated illustrative of his energy and humanity. In war he was 
ambitious of taking his full share of hardship, sleeping on the 
bare ground and partaking of the soldiers' homely fare. He 
was exceedingly popular at the time of his accession to the 
throne, and great anticipations were cherished of a golden age 
about to dawn upon Austria. "His toilet," writes one of 
his eulogists, " is that of a common soldier, his wardrobe that 
of a sergeant, business his recreation, and his life perpetual 
motion." 

The Austrian monarchy now embraced one hundred and 
eighty thousand square miles, containing twenty-four millions 
of inhabitants. It was indeed a heterogeneous realm, com- 
posed of a vast number of distinct nations and provinces, 
differing in language, religion, government, laws, customs and 
civilization. In most of these countries the feudal system ex- 
isted in all its direful oppression. Many of the provinces of 
the Austrian empire, like the Netherlands, Lombardy and 
Suabia, were separated by many leagues from the great cen- 
tral empire. The Roman Catholic religion was dominant in 
nearly all the States, and the clergy possessed enormous 
wealth and power. The masses of the people were sunk in 
the lowest depths of povei^y and ignorance. The aristocratic 
few rejoiced in luxury and splendor. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD, II. 

Feom 1180 to 1792. 

Accession of Joseph II.— His Plans of Reform.— Pius VI. — Emancipation of thb 
Serfs.— Joseph's Visit to his Sistee, Makia Antoinette.— Ambitious Designs. 
— The Imperial Sleigh Ride. — Barges on tiie Dneistek. — Excursion to the 
Crimea. — War with Turkey. — Defeat of tiie Aubtrians. — Great Successes. — 
Death of Joseph. — His Character. — Accession of Leopold II. — His Efforts 
to confirm Despotism. — The French Eevolution. — European Coalition. — 
Death of Leopold. — His Profligacy. — Accession of Francis II. — Present Ex- 
tent and Power of Austria. — Its Army. — Policy of the Government. 

IT7HEN" Joseph ascended the throne there were ten lan- 
'" guages, besides several dialects, spoken in Austria — the 
German, Hungarian, Sclavonian, Latin, Wallachian, Turkish, 
modern Greek, Italian, Flemish and French. The new king 
formed the desperate resolve to fuse the discordant kingdom 
into one homogeneous mass, obliterating all distinctions of 
laws, religion, language and manners. It was a benevolent de- 
sign, but one which far surpassed the power of man to exe- 
cute. He first attempted to obliterate all the old national land- 
marks, and divided the kingdom into thirteen States, in each 
of which he instituted the same code of laws. He ordered 
the German language alone to be used in public documents 
and offices ; declared the Roman Catholic religion to be domi- 
nant. There were two thousand convents in Austria. He 
reduced them to seven hundred, and cut down the number 
of thirty-two thousand idle monks to twenty-seven hundred ; 
and nobly issued an edict of toleration, granting to all mem* 



494 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

bers of Protestant churches the free exercise of their religion. 
Al 1 Christians, of every denomination, were declared to be 
equally eligible to any offices in the State. 

These enlightened innovations roused the terror and rage 
of bigoted Rome. Pope Pius VI. was so much alarmed that 
he took a journey to Vienna, that he might personally remon- 
strate with the emperor. But Joseph was inflexible, and the 
Pope returned to Rome chagrined and humiliated that he had 
acted the part of a suppliant in vain. 

The serfs were all emancipated from feudal vassalage, and 
thus, in an hour, the slavery under which the peasants had 
groaned for ages was abolished. He established universities, 
academies and public schools ; encouraged literature and 
science in every way, and took from the priests their office 
of censorship of the press, an office which they had long held. 
To encourage domestic manufactures he imposed a very heavy 
duty upon all articles of foreign manufacture. New roads 
were constructed at what was called enormous expense, and 
yet at expense which was as nothing compared with the cost 
of a single battle. 

Joseph, soon after his coronation, made a visit to his sister 
Maria Antoinette in France, where he was received with the 
most profuse hospitality, and the bonds of friendship between 
the two courts were much strengthened. The ambition for 
territorial aggrandizement seems to have been an hereditary 
disease of the Austrian monarchs. Joseph was very anxious 
to attach Bavaria to his realms. Proceeding with great cau- 
tion he first secured, by diplomatic skill, the non-intervention 
of France and Russia. England was too much engaged in 
the war of the American Revolution to interfere. He raised 
an army of eighty thousand men to crush any opposition, and 
then informed the Duke of Bavaria that he must exchange 
his dominions for the Austrian Netherlands. He requested 
the duke to give him an answer in eight days, but declared 
peremptorily that in case he manifested any reluctance, the 



JOSEPH II. 495 

emperor would be under the painful necessity of compelling 
him to make the exchange. 

The duke appealed to Russia, France and Prussia for aid. 
The emperor had bought over Russia and France. Frederic 
of Prussia, though seventy-four years of age, encouraged the 
duke to reject the proposal, and promised his support. The 
King of Prussia issued a remonstrance against this despotic 
act of Austria, which remonstrance was sent to all the courts 
of Europe. Joseph, on encountering this unexpected ob- 
stacle, and finding Europe combining against him, renounced 
his plan and published a declaration that he had never in- 
tended to effect the exchange by force. This disavowal, how- 
ever, deceived no one. A confederacy was soon formed, 
under the auspices of Frederic of Prussia, to check the en- 
croachments of the house of Austria. This Germanic League 
was almost the last act of Frederic. He died August IV, 
1786, after a reign of forty-seven years, in the seventy- fifth 
year of his age. 

The ambitious Empress of Russia, having already obtained 
the Crimea, was intent upon the subversion of the Ottoman 
empire, that she might acquire Constantinople as her mari- 
time metropolis in the sunny south. Joseph was willing to 
allow her to proceed unobstructed in the dismemberment of 
Turkey, if she would not interfere with his plans of reform 
and aggrandizement in Germany. 

In January, 1787, the Empress of Russia set out on a plea- 
sure excursion of two thousand miles to the Crimea ; perhaps 
the most magnificent pleasure excursion that was ever at- 
tempted. She was accompanied by all the court, by the 
French, English and Austrian ministers, and by a very gor- 
geous retinue. It was mid-winter, when the imperial party, 
wrapped in furs, and in large sledges richly decorated, and 
prepared expressly for the journey, commenced their sleigh 
ride of a thousand miles. Music greeted them all along the 
way ; bonfires t lazed on every hill ; palaces, brilliant with 



496 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

illuminations and profusely supplied with every luxury, wel- 
comed them at each stage where they stopped for refresh- 
ment or repose. The roads were put in perfect order ; and 
relays of fresh horses every few miles being harnessed to the 
sledges, they swept like the wind over the hills and through 
the valleys. 

The drive of a few weeks, with many loiterings for plea- 
sure in the cities on the way, took them to Kief on the Dnie- 
per. This ancient city, the residence of the grand dukes of 
Russia, contained a population of about twenty-six thousand. 
Here the imperial court established itself in the ducal palaces, 
and with music, songs and dances beguiled the days until, 
with the returning spring, the river opened. In the mean- 
time an immense flotilla of imperial barges had been prepared 
to drift down the stream, a thousand miles, to its mouth at 
Kherson, where the river flows into the Black sea. These 
barges were of magnificent dimensions, floating palaces, con- 
taining gorgeous saloons and spacious sleeping apartments. 
As they were constructed merely to float upon the rapid cur- 
rent of the stream, impelled by sails when the breeze should 
favor, they could easily be provided with all the appliances of 
luxury. It is difficult to conceive of a jaunt which would 
present more of the attractions of pleasure, than thus to glide 
in saloons of elegance, with imperial resources and surrounded 
by youth, beauty, genius and rank, for a thousand miles down 
the current of one of the wildest and most romantic streams 
of Europe. 

It was a beautiful sunny morning of May, when the regal 
party, accompanied by the music of military bands, and with 
floating banners, entered the barges. The river, broad and 
deep, rolls on with majestic flow, now through dense forests, 
black and gloomy, where the barking of the bear is heard and 
wolves hold their nightly carousals; now it winds through 
vast prairies hundreds of miles in extent; again it bursts 
through mountain barriers where cliffs and crags rise sub- 



joseph ii. 497 

Hmely thousands of feet in the air; here with precipitous sides 
of granite, bleak and scathed by the storms of centuries, and 
there with gloomy firs and pines rising to the clouds, where 
eagles soar and scream and rear their young. Flocks and 
herds now graze upon the banks; here lies the scattered 
village, and its whole population, half civilized men, and 
matrons and maidens in antique, grotesque attire, crowd the 
shores. Now the pinnacles and the battlements of a great 
city rise to view. Armies were gathered at several points to 
entertain the imperial pleasure-party with all the pomp and 
pageantry of war. At Pultowa they witnessed the maneuver- 
ings of a battle, with its thunderings and uproar and apparent 
carnage — the exact representation of the celebrated battle of 
Pultowa, which Teter the Great gained on the spot over 
Charles XII. of Sweden. 

The Emperor Joseph had been invited to join this party, 
and, with his court and retinue, was to meet them at Kherson, 
near the mouth of the Dneister, and accompany the empress 
to the Crimea. But, perhaps attracted by the splendor of the 
water excursion, he struck across the country in a north-east 
direction, by the way of Lemberg, some six hundred miles, to 
intercept the flotilla and join the party on the river. But the 
water of the river suddenly fell, and some hundred miles 
above Kherson, the flotilla ran upon a sand bar and could not 
be forced over. The empress, who was apprised of the ap- 
proach of the emperor, too proud to be found in such a 
situation, hastily abandoned the flotilla, and taking the car- 
riages which they had with them, drove to meet Joseph. 
The two imperial suites were soon united, and they swept on, 
a glittering cavalcade, to Kherson. Joseph and Catharine 
rode in a carriage together, where they had ample opportu- 
nity of talking over all their plans of mutual aggrandizement. 
As no one was permitted to listen to their conversations, their 
decisions can only be guessed at. 

They entered the city of Kherson, then containing about 



498 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

sixty thousand inhabitants, surrounded by all the magnificence 
which Russian and Austrian opulence could exhibit. A tri- 
umphal arch spanned the gate, upon which was inscribed in 
letters of gold, " The road to Byzantium." Four days were 
passed here in revelry. The party then entered the Crimea, 
and continued their journey as far as Sevastopol, where the 
empress was delighted to find, within its capacious harbor, 
many Russian frigates at anchor. Immense sums were ex- 
pended in furnishing entertainments by the way. At Batche- 
seria, where the two sovereigns occupied the ancient palace 
of the khans, they looked out upon a mountain in a blaze of 
illumination, and apparently pouring lava floods from its 
artificial volcanic crater. 

Joseph returned to Vienna, and immediately there was 
war — Austria and Russia against Turkey. Joseph was anxious 
to secure the provinces of Bosnia, Servia, Moldavia and Wal- 
lachia, and to extend his empire to the Dneister. With great 
vigor he made his preparations, and an army of two hundred 
thousand men, with two thousand pieces of artillery, were 
speedily on the march down the Danube. Catharine was 
equally energetic in her preparations, and all the north of 
Europe seemed to be on the march for the overthrow of the 
Ottoman empire. 

Proverbially fickle are the fortunes of war. Joseph com- 
menced the siege of Belgrade with high hopes. He was 
ignominiously defeated, and his troops were driven, utterly 
routed, into Hungary, pursued by the Turks, who spread 
ruin and devastation widely around them. Disaster followed 
disaster. Disease entered the Austrian ranks, and the proud 
army melted away. The emperor himself, with about forty 
thousand men, was nearly surrounded by the enemy. He 
attempted a retreat by night. A false alarm threw the troops 
into confusion and terror. The soldiers, in their bewilder 
ment fired upon each other, and an awful scene of tumult 
ensued. The emperor, on horseback, endeavored to rally the 



Joseph ii. 499 

fugitives, but he was swept away by the crowd, and in the 
midnight darkness was separated from his suite. Four thou- 
sand men perished in this defeat, and much of the baggage 
and several guns were lost. The emperor reproached his aides- 
de-camp with having deserted him. One of them sarcasti- 
cally replied, 

"We used our utmost endeavors to keep up with your 
imperial majesty, but our horses were not so fleet as yours." 

Seventy thousand Austrians perished in this one campaign. 
The next year, 1789, was, however, as prosperous as this had 
been adverse. The Turks at Rimnik were routed with enor- 
mous slaughter, and their whole camp, with all its treasures, 
fell into the hands of the victors. Belgrade was fiercely 
assailed and was soon compelled to capitulate. But Joseph 
was now upon his dying bed. The tidings of these successes 
revived him for a few hours, and leaving his sick chamber he 
was conveyed to the church of St. Stephen, where thanks- 
givings were offered to God. A festival of three days in 
Vienna gave expression to the public rejoicing. 

England was now alarmed in view of the rapid strides 
of Austria and Russia, and the cabinet of St. James formed 
a coalition with Holland and Prussia to assist the Turks. 
France, now in the midst of her revolutionary struggle, could 
take no part in these foreign questions. These successes 
were, however, but a momentary gleam of sunshine which 
penetrated the chamber of the dying monarch. Griefs innu- 
merable clustered around him. The inhabitants of the 
Netherlands rose in successful rebellion and threw off the 
Austrian yoke. Prussia was making immense preparations 
for the invasion of Austria. The Hungarians were rising 
and demanding emancipation from the court of Vienna. 
These calamities crushed the emperor. He moaned, and 
wept and died. In his last hours he found much solace in 
religious observances, devoutly receiving the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper, and passing much of his time in prayer. He 



500 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

died on the 20th of February, 1790, in the forty-ninth year oi 
his age, and the tenth of his reign. 

Joseph had been sincerely desirous of promoting the best 
interests of his realms ; but had been bitterly disappointed in 
the result of most of his efforts at reform. Just before he died, 
he said, " I would have engraven on my tomb, ' Here lies the 
sovereign who, with the best intentions, never carried a single 
project into execution.' " He was married twice, but both of 
his wives, in the prime of youth, fell victims to the small-pox, 
that awful disease which seems to have been a special scourge 
in the Austrian royal family. As Joseph II. died without 
children, the crown passed to his next brother, Leopold, who 
was then Grand Duke of Tuscany. 

Leopold II., at his accession to the throne, was forty-three 
years of age. He hastened to Vienna, and assumed the gov- 
ernment. By prudent acts of conciliation he succeeded in 
appeasing discontents, and soon accomplished the great object 
of his desire in securing the election to the imperial throne. 
He was crowned at Frankfort, October 9, 1790. With frank- 
ness very unusual in the diplomacy of kings, he sought friendly 
relations with all the neighboring powers. To Frederic Wil- 
liam, who was now King of Prussia, he wrote : 

" In future, I solemnly protest, no views of aggrandize- 
ment will ever enter into my political system. I shall doubt- 
less employ all the means in my possession to defend my 
country, should I unfortunately be driven to such measures ; 
but I will endeavor to give no umbrage. To your majesty in 
particular, I will act as you act towards me, and will spare no 
efforts to preserve perfect harmony." 

To these friendly overtures, Frederic William responded 
in a similar spirit ; but still there were unsettled points of dis- 
pute between the two kingdoms which threatened war, and 
large armies were gathered on their respective frontiers in 
preparation for the commencement of hostilities. In 1790, 
after much correspondence, they came to terms, and articles 



LEOPOLD II. 501 

of peace were signed. At the same time an armistice was 
concluded with the Turks. 

The spirit of liberty which had emancipated the colonies 
of North America from the aristocratic sway of England, 
shivering the scepter of feudal tyranny in France, had pene- 
trated Hungary. Leopold was endeavoring to rivet anew the 
shackles of despotism, when he received a manly remonstrance 
from an assembly of Hungarians which had been convened as 
Pest. In the following noble terms they addressed the king. 

"The fame, august sovereign, which has preceded you, 
has declared you a just and gracious prince. It says that you 
forget not that you are a man ; that you are sensible that the 
king was made for the people, not the people for the king. 
From the rights of nations and of man, and from that social 
compact w r hence states arose, it is incontestable that the sov- 
ereignty originates from the people. This axiom, our parent 
Nature has impressed on the hearts of all. It is one of those 
which a just prince (and such we trust your majesty ever will 
be) can not dispute. It is one of those inalienable imprescrip- 
tible rights which the people can not forfeit by neglect or dis- 
use. Our constitution places the sovereignty jointly in the 
king and people, in such a manner that the remedies ne- 
cessary to be applied according to the ends of social life, for 
the security of persons and property, are in the power of the 
people. 

" We are sure, therefore, that at the meeting of the ensu- 
ing diet, your majesty will not confine yourself to the objects 
mentioned in your rescript, but will also restore our freedom 
to us, in like manner as to the Belgians, who have conquered 
theirs with the sword. It would be an example big with dan- 
ger, to teach the world that a people can only protect or re- 
gain their liberties by the sword and not by obedience." 

But Leopold, trembling at the progress which freedom was 
making in France, determined to crush this spirit with an iron 
heel. Their oetition was rejected with scorn and menace. 



502 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

With great splendor Leopold entered Presburg, and was 
crowned King of Hungary on the 10th of November, 1790. 
Having thus silenced the murmurs in Hungary, and estab- 
lished his authority there, he next turned his attention to the 
recovery of the Netherlands. The people there, breathing 
the spirit of French liberty, had, by a simultaneous rising, 
thrown off the detestable Austrian yoke. Forty-five thousand 
men were sent to effect their subjugation. On the 20th of 
November, the army appeared before Brussels. In less than 
one year all the provinces were again brought under subjection 
to the Austrian power. 

Leopold, thus successful, now turned his attention to 
France. Maria Antoinette was his sister. He had another 
sister in the infamous Queen Caroline of Naples. The com- 
plaints which came incessantly from Versailles and the Tuil- 
leries filled his ear, touched his affections, and roused his in- 
dignation. Twenty-five millions of people had ventured to 
assert their rights against the intolerable arrogance of the 
French court. Leopold now gathered his armies to trample 
those people down, and fco replace the scepter of unlimited 
despotism in the hands of the Bourbons. With sleepless zeal 
•Leopold cooperated with nearly all the monarchs in Europe, 
in combining a resistless force to crush out from the conti- 
nent of Europe the spirit of popular liberty. An army of 
ninety thousand men was raised to cooperate with the French 
emigrants and all the royalists in France. The king was to 
escape from Paris, place himself at the head of the emigrants, 
amounting to more than twenty thousand, rally around his 
banners all the advocates of the old regime, and then, sup- 
ported by all the powers of combined Europe, was to march 
upon Paris, and take a bloody vengeance upon a people who 
dared to wish to be free. The arrest of Louis XVI. at 
Varennes deranged this plan. Leopold, alarmed not only by 
the impending fate of his sister, but lest the principles of 



LEOPOLD II. 503 

popular liberty, extending from France, should undermine his 
own throne, wrote as follows to the King of England : 

" I am persuaded that your majesty is not unacquainted 
with the unheard of outrage committed by the arrest of the 
King of France, the queen my sister and the royal family, 
and that your sentiments accord with mine on an event which, 
threatening more atrocious consequences, and fixing the seal 
of illegality on the preceding excesses, concerns the honor 
and safety of all governments. Resolved to fulfill what I 
owe to these considerations, and to my duty as chief of the 
German empire, and sovereign of the Austrian dominions, I 
propose to your majesty, in the same manner as I have pro- 
posed to the Kings of Spain, Prussia and Naples, as well as 
to the Empress of Russia, to unite with them, in a concert of 
measures for obtaining the liberty of the king and his family, 
and setting bounds to the dangerous excesses of the French 
Revolution." 

The British people nobly sympathized with the French 
in their efforts at emancipation, and the British government 
dared not then shock the public conscience by assailing the 
patriots in France. Leopold consequently turned to Frederic 
William of Prussia, and held a private conference with him 
at Pilnitz, near Dresden, in Saxony, on the 27th of August, 
1791. The Count d'Artois, brother of Louis XVI., and who 
subsequently ascended the French throne as Charles X., 
joined them in this conference. In the midst of these agita- 
tions and schemes Leopold II. was seized with a malignant 
dysentery, which was aggravated by a life of shameless de- 
bauchery, and died on the 1st of March, 1792, in the forty- 
fifth year of his age, and after a reign of but two years. 

Leopold has the reputation of having been, on the whole, 
a kind-hearted man, but his court was a harem of unblushing 
profligacy. His broken-hearted wife was compelled to sub- 
mit to the degradation of daily intimacy with the mistress of 
her husband. Upon one only of these mistresses the king 



504 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

lavished two hundred thousand dollars in drafts on the bank 
of- Vienna. The sums thus infamously squandered were 
wrested from the laboring poor. His son, Francis II., who 
succeeded him upon the throne, was twenty-two years of age. 
In most affecting terms the widowed queen entreated her son 
to avoid those vices of his father which had disgraced the 
monarchy and embittered her whole life. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

AUSTRIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 
From 1792 to 1860. 

Accession of Francis II.— Campaigns against Napoleon.— The Italian Republics. 
— The Kingdom of Italy.— Hostility of England to the French Revolution. 
—The Downfall of Napoleon, and Consequent Downfall of Fbee Institu- 
tions theoughout Europe. — The Congress of Vienna. — Expulsion of the 
Bourbons from France. — Restoration of the Empire under Louis Napoleon. 
—Revolutions throughout Europe. — Hungarian Revolution. — Russian Inter- 
vention.— Fall of Hungary.— Liberation of Italy.— Present Prospects. 

ONE of the first measures of the young monarch, Francis 
II., was to make the insolent demand of regenerated 
France, that the old Bourhon monarchy should be restored 
with all its execrable domination of despotism. This insult 
to thirty millions of freemen, ordering them to bow the neck 
again to the yoke of slavery, and to hold out their free hands 
and free feet that the manacles and the gyves might again be 
riveted, roused intense indignation. France repelled the inso- 
lence with scorn. To enforce this mandate, the Austrian 
monarch accumulated vast armies, and entered into negotia- 
tions with Louis XVI., with the French emigrants, and with 
the surrounding despotisms. The spirit of the French nation 
was so roused by these atrocities, that Louis XVI. himself, 
pallid and woe-stricken, was compelled to declare war against 
those his friends, with whom he was secretly conferring, that 
he might by their aid remount his ancient throne of abso- 
lutism. 

An allied army of Austrians, a hundred and fifty thousand 
strong, together with twenty thousand French emigrants, 

505 



506 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

was soon on the march to overthrow the constitutional 
monarchy of France, and to restore again to the king the 
sceptre of despotism. The British Government, restrained 
by popular opinion in England, did not venture openly 
to join the allies, but supplied them abundantly with money. 
The Duke of Brunswick, who was appointed commander- 
in-chief of the allied army, issued a manifesto, dated Cob- 
lentz, July 15, 1792, in which the French nation were com- 
manded to restore the Bourbons immediately to their former 
absolute power, and to punish all who had taken any part 
in the movement for constitutional liberty. At the same 
time the duke threatened to hang every Frenchman who 
should resist the invaders, and to burn every city or village 
which should present any opposition to his march. 

Austria, Russia, Prussia, and England were in heart united 
to enforce this proclamation. France, in unspeakable peril, 
was stung to desperation. The king, who was known to be 
in co-operation with the invaders, was dethroned and impris- 
oned, and finally executed. The aristocrats, who were waiting 
to join the enemy, were massacred. England now openly 
joined the allies, placed herself at their head, and declared 
war against France. The exultant battalions of the foe 
crossed the French frontiers, and, sweeping resistlessly on 
with sword and flame, arrived within a few days' march of 
Paris. The consternation in the capital was terrible. The 
whole French people rose en masse, and rushed, like wolves at 
bay, upon the enemy ; and they were driven, broken, bleeding, 
and breathless, from the kingdom. 

At the same time in which these scenes were transpiring, 
Austria, dominant in Italy, had gathered large armies in 
Venetia, Lombardy, and Piedmont, and, in alliance with 
Naples and Switzerland, was preparing to invade France on 
her Alpine frontier. 

All the States of Northern Italy were completely over- 
awed by the imperial court at Vienna, and were compelled 
to put their troops on the march at the summons of the 
Austrian bugles. All despotic Europe was now combined 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 507 

against republican France. Month after month the terrible 
conflict raged, crimsoning the waves of the Rhine with blood, 
and waking the clangor of war amidst the solitudes of the 
Alps. The strife was prosecuted with unparalleled ferocity ; 
for the most deadly passions of the human heart were called 
into action. 

At length the young general, Napoleon Bonaparte, was in- 
trusted with the defence of France on the Alpine frontier. 
His movement was like the sweep of the mountain whirlwind. 
The storm of war gathered blackness for a moment among 
the cliffs of the Alps, and then burst with flash and peal upon 
the plains of Piedmont. The Austrians were scattered like 
autumnal leaves ; and the victor, master of Piedmont, un- 
furled his banners over the battlements of Turin. Not a 
moment was allowed for repose. The broken bands of the 
Austrians rallied with recruited strength on the plains of Lorn- 
bardy. Terrific and awfully sanguinary was the strife. But 
again the imperial legions of despotism were trampled down by 
the heroic patriots struggling for liberty. The Austrians, in 
dismay, fled into Venetia. Napoleon pursued them. In terror 
they crossed the Tagliamento, and retreated from Italy. Still 
Napoleon, with fearlessness which amazed Europe, followed 
on, chasing the multitudinous foe through defiles and forests, 
over rivers and plains and mountain-ranges, pelting them with 
artillery, charging them with cavalry, and scattering bullets 
like hailstones through their panting ranks. The Archduke 
Charles, brother of the Emperor of Austria, was in command 
of the retreating army. Napoleon, who was fighting only for 
peace, anxious to arrest the flow of blood in this hour of tri- 
umph, ventured to take the initiative in imploring a cessation 
of hostilities. He addressed the following letter to the arch- 
duke : — 

" General-in-Chief, — Have we not slain enough of our 
fellow-men ? Have we not inflicted a sufficiency of woes 
upon humanity? Europe, which took up arms against the 
French Republic, has laid them aside. Your nation alone re- 
mains hostile ; and blood is about to flow more copiously than 



508 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

ever. Whatever may be the result of this campaign, many 
thousand men must perish ; and, after all, we must come to 
an accommodation. If the overture which I have the honor 
to make shall be the means of saving a single life, I shall be 
more proud of the civic crown, which I shall be conscious of 
having deserved, than of all the melancholy glory which mili- 
tary success can confer." 

The Austrian archduke replied, "In the duty assigned to 
me, there is no power either to scrutinize the causes, or to ter- 
minate the duration, of the war. I am not invested with 
any authority in that respect, and therefore cannot enter into 
any negotiation for peace." 

" The war, that for a space did fail, 
Now trebly thundering swelled the gale." 

The pursuers and the pursued rushed on with hot haste 
amidst all the uproar, confusion, and carnage of war, until 
Napoleon, from the heights around Leoben, with his glass, 
could discern the towers of, Vienna. All was consternation 
in the Austrian capital. The emperor and his court fled, like 
deer, to the wilds of Hungary, at the same time despatching 
ambassadors to Napoleon imploring peace. It was all France 
wanted. The preliminaries were soon settled. By the treaty 
of Campo Forrnio, which ensued, France extended her frontier 
to the Rhine as a safeguard against future attacks ; and Austria 
recognized the Cisalpine republic which Napoleon had estab- 
lished in Italy, consisting of Lombardy, Modena, and several 
smaller States. Napoleon was anxious to liberate Venice from 
Austria ; but he could not accomplish this without perpetuat- 
ing a cruel war for an object in which France had no especial 
interest, and during which he might lose all that he had thus 
far gained. 

England, the undisputed mistress of the sea, still continued 
the conflict against republican France. The expedition to 
Egj'pt was organized ; and Napoleon was placed at the head 
of it to attack England in India, the only vulnerable point 
then presented. Napoleon had hardly left France ere England 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 509 

succeeded in forming a new coalition against the infant repub- 
lic. Austria joined it eagerly, sent vast armies into Italy, 
and soon recovered the provinces which Napoleon had liber- 
ated. Again the combined armies of Austria and of the re- 
enslaved States of Italy were climbing the Alps to pour down 
upon the plains of France, while the veteran battalions of all 
Northern Europe were crowding to the Rhine. England was 
energetic with both fleet and army in co-operating in this 
most iniquitous crusade which was ever waged. 

" The English fleet/' says the British " Westminster Re- 
view," "was ordered to Genoa to support the enemies of 
France ; but it was in defiance of English public opinion. 
There is no fact in our history more easy of proof than that 
the voice of universal England was raised in protest against 
being dragged into war with France. The lord mayor and 
corporation of London petitioned against the war. At Isling- 
ton fifty thousand persons met to demand neutrality. Thus, 
while the British fleet was covering Austrian movements 
against Bonaparte on the shores of Genoa, the English people 
at home were praying and petitioning in vain against the war 
with the French Republic." 

Napoleon, having suddenly returned from Egypt and as- 
sumed the consular command, sent the flower of the French 
army, under General Moreau, to beat off the foes of France 
upon the Rhine. With amazing celerity and secrecy he as- 
sembled another army of sixty thousand raw recruits at Dijon, 
near the foot of the Alps. Before putting his armies in motion 
he wrote to both the King of England and the Emperor of Aus- 
tria, imploring peace. A contemptuous and insulting refusal 
was the only reply. 

Napoleon crossed the Alps, fell upon the Austrians at Ma- 
rengo ; and they bit the dust. On the gory field, surrounded 
by the dead and the dying and all the melancholy wrecks of 
war, the victor thus again addressed the Emperor of Austria, — 

" Sire, — It is on the field of battle, amid the sufferings of 
a multitude of wounded, and surrounded by fifteen thousand 
corpses, that I beseech your Majesty to listen to the voice of 



510 THE HOUSE OP AUSTRIA. 

humanity, and not to suffer two brave nations to cut each 
other's throats for interests not their own. It is my part to 
press this upon your Majesty, being upon the very theatre 
of war. Your Majesty's heart cannot feel it so keenly as does 
mine." 

The Austrian army, utterly routed, was at the mercy of the 
conqueror. Generously Napoleon permitted them to return 
unmolested to their homes, upon the sole condition that they 
would quietly withdraw from Italy. Austria now desired 
peace ; but she was so entangled with her alliance with Eng- 
land, that she could not enter into a treaty with France with- 
out the consent of the court of St. James. That consent 
could not be obtained ; and the Austrian troops, in obedience 
to the coalition which England had organized, accumulated 
her troops in powerful array upon the Khine. On the 3d of 
December, 1800, in a dark and stormy night, General Moreau, 
with sixty thousand Frenchmen, encountered the Archduke 
John, at the head of seventy thousand Austrians, in the 
forest of Hohenlinden. A terrible battle ensued. 

When the morning dawned, twenty thousand mutilated 
bodies were left upon the field, with gory locks frozen to the 
snow. The Austrians, utterly routed, fled down the valley of 
the Danube towards Vienna. Moreau followed them like an 
avenging spirit, sweeping them down with war's fierce blasts. 
He had arrived within thirty miles of the panic-stricken capi- 
tal, when the emperor, trembling for his crown, sent commis- 
sioners imploring peace. " It is for that alone," Moreau 
replied, " that we are fighting." 

Austria was thus compelled to sheathe the sword without 
consulting England. Joseph Bonaparte as the ambassador of 
Napoleon, and Count Cobentzel as the plenipotentiary of 
Austria, met at Luneville. It was in February, 1801. Again 
Austria acknowledged the Rhine as the boundary of France, 
and recognized the independence of the Batavian, Helvetic, 
Cisalpine, and Ligurian Republics, consenting that they should 
be permitted to choose whatever form of government they 
might prefer. These free governments had been gradually 
established during the progress of the war. 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 511 

Bat England, sweeping all seas with her invincible fleet, 
still continued the strife. Not a fishing-boat could in safety 
leave a French cove. Every port in France was liable to 
bombardment. At length the clamor of the English peojile 
compelled the government to the peace of Amiens. But the 
ministry were eager to renew the war, and in eighteen months 
did so without any proclamation of hostilities, seizing two 
hundred French ships, containing fifteen millions of dollars, 
which were floating, unsuspicious of danger, in English ports. 
War was resumed with redoubled ferocity. Napoleon now 
resolved to transport his army to London, that in the British 
capital he might compel his. inflexible foes to grant peace to 
Europe. 

The British Government, alarmed in view of the prepara- 
tions Napoleon was making at Boulogne, through the influence 
of enormous bribes organized a new coalition. Austria, Russia, 
and Sweden were thus induced to raise an army of five hun- 
dred thousand men to embarrass Napoleon by suddenly attack- 
ing him in the rear. England agreed to pay annually six million 
of dollars for every hundred thousand men the allies raised. 
Austria, without any declaration of war, leading an immense 
army, followed by the solid battalions of Russia and Sweden, 
for the third time commenced her march upon Paris, hoping 
stealthily to plunge the dagger into Napoleon's back. But Napo- 
leon was not caught sleeping. Twenty thousand carriages were 
instantly in motion, transporting his army from the shores of 
the channel to the banks of the Rhine. In a brief address to 
the senate, as Napoleon left Paris, he said, — 

" Senators, I am about to leave Paris to place myself at the 
head of the army. The wishes of the eternal enemies of the 
continent are accomplished. Hostilities have commenced in 
the midst of Germany. Austria and Russia have united with 
England, and our generation is involved anew in the calami- 
ties of war. A few da} T s ago I cherished the hope that peace 
would not be disturbed. But the Austrian army has passed 
the Inn. All my hopes of peace are vanished." 

The world-renowned campaign of Ulm and Austerlitz 



512 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

ensued. In twenty days the Austrian army was annihilated. 
As thirty-six thousand Austrian troops at Ulm laid down 
their arms before the conqueror, Napoleon said to the dejected 
officers, — 

" Gentlemen, your master wages against me an unjust war. 
I say it candidly, I know not for what I am fighting : I know 
not what he requires of me." 

Without allowing his foes one hour to recover from their 
panic, Napoleon pressed on to Vienna. Like a torrent he 
swept the valley of the Danube ; and in forty days from the 
time he left Boulogne, his army was encamped in the squares 
of the Austrian capital, and Napoleon was occupying the 
palaces of the emperor. Francis, with the fragments of his 
army, had fled to join the Russians, who were hurrying to his 
relief. The situation of Napoleon was now perilous in the 
extreme. He was nearly a thousand miles from Paris. Four 
hundred and fifty thousand men, from the various points of 
the compass, were on the march to crush him. The Emperor 
of Russia was at the distance of but a few days' march in the 
north, at the head of one hundred thousand men, hurrying to 
join other vast bodies of men in their advance upon Vienna. 
The blasts of winter were already sweeping the whitened hills. 

Napoleon, urging his troops to forced marches, to prevent 
the junction of the foe, met the Russians and the broken 
bands of the Austrians, with the two emperors, Alexander and 
Francis, at their head, upon the field of Austerlitz. It was 
the 1st of December, 1805. In one short terrific tempest of 
war, the allied army was destroyed. Alexander, with the 
bleeding, shattered remnants of his bands, commenced a pre- 
cipitate retreat toward Russia. The Emperor Francis was 
hopelessly ruined, and had nowhere to retreat to, unless he 
abandoned his realms. Thus humiliated, he sought an inter- 
view with Napoleon, and met him, at the fire of his bivouac, 
on the side of a bleak hill. Conscious of guilt, and deeply 
dejected, he attempted an ignoble apology for his crime by 
saying,— 

"The English are a nation of merchants. In order to 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 513 

secure for themselves the commerce of the world, they are 
willing to set the continent in flames." 

Napoleon, anxious for peace, was exceedingly moderate in 
his terms. He allowed the Emperor of Russia to retire un- 
molested, simply exacting from him the promise no longer to 
prosecute hostile movements against France. From Austria, 
also, he took for himself not one foot of territory. Francis 
paid the expenses of the war, and consented that the electors 
of Bavaria and Wurtemberg, who were friends and allies of 
Napoleon, should be elevated to the rank of kings. The re- 
publican kingdom of Italy was also enlarged, and rendered 
more powerful by the annexation of Venice, Austria receiving 
in exchange the electorate of Salzburg. 

Napoleon thus rewarded his friends, ano\ strengthened the 
barriers which were to protect France from those great northern 
despotisms, Russia, Prussia, and Austria, which were instinc- 
tively hostile to the establishment of any free institutions on 
the soil of Europe. 

The Emperor of France had hardly returned to Paris from 
this campaign, when England formed another coalition against 
him, uniting Russia and Prussia in the alliance. This coali- 
tion led to the campaigns of Jena and Eylau. Notwithstand- 
ing the solemn treaties into which Austria had entered, Fran- 
cis was eager to join the foes of France, when he thought 
Napoleon was crippled beyond redemption on the distant banks 
of the Vistula. Elated with the hope that Napoleon was so 
crowded by his foes, that he could not resent the outrage, 
Austria began to arm, preparing to cut off the retreat of the 
French. To meet this peril, Napoleon immediately ordered 
another army of a hundred thousand men to be raised in 
France, and thoroughly equipped for war. He then sent, 
through his minister, the following wonderfully frank com- 
munication to the Emperor Francis, — 

" France understands perfectly the intentions of Austria. 
To save Austria from calamity, I explain myself with frank- 
ness. France is abundantly prepared to meet any force 
Austria can raise against her. If the emperor wishes to send 



514 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

officers to ascertain our strength, we engage to show them the 
depots, the camps of reserve, and the divisions on the march. 
They shall see, that, independently of the hundred thousand 
French already in Germany, a second army of one hundred 
thousand is preparing to cross the Rhine to check any hostile 
movement on the part of Vienna." 

This unexpected revelation of the ability of France to pun- 
ish the contemplated perfidy caused Austria to drop her arms. 
The peace of Tilsit detached Russia and Prussia from the 
coalition with England, and the British cabinet was again left 
to struggle alone in the attempt to restore the Bourbons to 
their despotic throne. Still Austria, chagrined by reiterated 
defeats, and humiliated by the loss of Italy, was eager for some 
favorable opportunity to renew the strife with France, hoping 
to regain lost honor and lost territory. The wished-for oppor- 
tunity soon occurred. Napoleon was embroiled in the Spanish 
war, when Austria again listened to England, and again 
entered into a coalition against France. Napoleon was driv- 
ing the army of Sir John Moore out of the Spanish peninsula, 
when he received the tidings that Austria was preparing for 
another assault. 

"It seems," said he, "that the waters of oblivion flow past 
Vienna. They have forgotten the lessons of experience. 
They want new ones : they shall have them ; and this time 
they shall be terrible. I do not desire war. I have no inter- 
est in it." 

"Napoleon," says Thiers, "was sincere, and spoke the truth, 
in asserting that he did not desire war, but that he would 
wage it tremendously if forced into it." 

With an army of two hundred thousand men, Austria com- 
menced the conflict by crossing the Inn, and invading the ter- 
ritory of Napoleon's ally, the King of Bavaria. As usual, the 
Austrian emperor conducted with the utmost perfidj r , commen- 
cing hostilities without any declaration of war. Napoleon was 
not taken by surprise. At midnight, in Paris, he received in- 
telligence of the movements of the foe. He immediately took 
carriage to place himself at the head of his army, saying to 
his friends as he bade them adieu, — 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 515 

"Very well. Behold us once more at Vienna. Since they 
force me to it, they shall have war to their hearts' content." 

The Austrians had five hundred thousand troops in the field, 
two hundred thousand of whom had crossed the Inn. Napo- 
leon met the foe at Echmul, and scattered them in dismay be- 
fore his impetuous charges. As they fled, Napoleon pursued 
them, and, overtaking them at Ratisbon, chastised them again 
with a dripping sword. He then chased them down the 
Danube to Vienna. For ten hours he bombarded the doomed 
city, throwing into it three thousand shells, until it capitu- 
lated. The Austrian emperor and his army fled across the 
Danube. Napoleon pursued them closely, and, after the san- 
guinary conflicts of Essling and Aspern, again brought Aus- 
tria upon her knees on the field of Wagram. At the close of 
this decisive battle, when the Austrian empire was again at 
the mercy of Napoleon, all the French marshals were assem- 
bled in his tent to consider the proposal Austria had presented 
for an armistice. The question was earnestly discussed. 

"Austria," said one party, "is the irreconcilable enemy of 
the popular government in France. Unless deprived of the 
power of again injuring us, she will never cease to violate 
the most solemn treaties, whenever there is a prospect of ad- 
vantage. It is indispensable to put an end to these coalitions 
perpetually springing up against us, by dividing Austria, 
which is the centre of them all." 

"Should the Austrian emperor," replied the other party, 
" retreat to the Bohemian mountains, Russia and Prussia will 
probably join the coalition. A great and final conflict is 
evidently approaching between the North and the South. It 
is of the utmost importance to conciliate Austria, that she 
may be detached from the coalition." 

Napoleon listened thoughtfully, and then said, " Gentlemen, 
enough blood has been shed. I accept the armistice." 

Francis resorted to every species of trickery to prolong the 
negotiations, hoping for aid from the English, who had landed 
in great strength at the mouth of the Scheldt ; but at length 
the treaty was signed on the 14th of October, 1809. It was 



516 THE HOUSE OF AUS T*R I A. 

the fourth treaty Austria had made with France within sixteen 
years. In this treaty of Vienna, which Napoleon negotiated 
while occupying the palaces of the Austrian emperor, the 
frontiers of Bavaria were strengthened and extended, so that 
this ally of France might not he again so defencelessly exposed 
to Austrian invasion. Saxony received an additional popula- 
tion, amounting to a million five hundred thousand. The 
kingdom of Italy also received important accessions of terri- 
tory, that it might present a more impregnable front to its 
despotic and gigantic neighbor. France strengthened her 
allies, but added not a rood of ground to her own domain. 

"When compared," says Lockhart, "with the signal tri- 
umphs of the campaign of Wagram, the terms on which 
Napoleon signed the peace were universally looked upon as 
remarkable for moderation." 

Soon after this, Austria became intimately allied with France 
by the marriage of Maria Louisa, the daughter of the em- 
peror, with Napoleon. It was supposed that this measure of 
State policy would secure the peace of Europe by preventing 
any further acts of hostility on the part of Austria. The 
divorce of Josephine was the great mistake, and, in the sight 
of God, the great sin, of Napoleon's life. Savary, the Duke 
of Eovego, who was familiar with all the details, thus describes 
the motives which led to this sublime tragedy : — 

"Nothing can be more true," says he, "than that the sacri- 
fice of the object of his affections was the most painful that 
Napoleon experienced throughout his life. A feeling of per- 
sonal ambition was supposed to be the mainspring of all his 
actions. This was a very mistaken impression. With great 
reluctance he had altered the form of government ; and, if he 
had not been apprehensive that the State would again fall a 
prey to those dissensions which are inseparable from an elec- 
tive form of government, he would not have changed an order 
of things which permanently secured those principles. He 
desired to hand his work down to posterity. He could not be 
blind to the fact that the perpetual warfare into which a jeal- 
ousy of his strength had plunged him had in reality no other 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 517 

object than his own downfall, because with him must neces- 
sarily crumble that gigantic power which was no longer up- 
held by the revolutionary energy he had himself repressed. 

" The emperor had no children. He dismissed the idea of 
appointing Eugene his heir, because he had nearer relations ; 
and it would have given rise to dissensions which it was his 
principal object to avoid. He also considered the necessity in 
which he was placed of forming an alliance sufficiently power- 
ful, in order that, in the event of his system being at any 
time threatened, that alliance might be a resting-point, and 
save it from total ruin. He likewise hoped that it would be 
the means of putting an end to that series of wars, of which 
he was desirous, above all things, of avoiding a recurrence. 
These were the motives which determined him to break a 
union so long contracted. He wished it less for himself than 
for the purpose of interesting a powerful State in the mainte- 
nance of an order of things established in France." 

The marriage-ceremony of Napoleon and Maria Louisa was 
celebrated in Vienna on the 11th of May, 1810. The Arch- 
duke Charles, brother of the Emperor Francis, stood as proxy 
for Napoleon. A little more than two years from this time 
occurred the dreadful disaster of the campaign of Russia. A 
French army of nearly half a million was buried beneath the 
snows of the North. Europe again sprang to arms to crush, 
in the person of Napoleon, free institutions. With almost 
supernatural energy the French emperor raised another army, 
and, with fearful odds against him, was holding at bay the 
armies of England, Eussia, and Prussia upon the plains of 
Dresden. Austria seized upon this occasion again to join the 
allies, that she might recover what she had lost. Francis 
raised an army of two hundred thousand men ; and with the 
ringing of bells, the explosion of artillery, and the flight of 
rockets, on the 12th of August, 1813, this proud army joined 
the ranks of Napoleon's already outnumbering foes. Napoleon 
was on the banks of the Elbe with but two hundred and sixty 
thousand troops. The allies surrounded him five hundred 
thousand strong. The battles of Dresden and Leipsic en- 



518 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

sued. Napoleon fought with heroism which amazed the world, 
hut finally, overwhelmed with numbers, fell. 

The allies marched to Paris, leading the Bourbons behind 
their guns, and replaced them upon the throne of France. 
Napoleon was sent to Elba ; and Maria Louisa, with her son, 
taken captive by her own father, was conveyed by a guard of 
soldiers to Vienna. The sublime drama of " The Hundred 
Days " soon ensued, followed by the disaster of Waterloo. 
Napoleon was entombed in the glooms of St. Helena ; and 
despotism was re-established all over Europe. 

The victorious despots met in congress at Vienna in Sep- 
tember, 1814, to divide the spoil. There were present at this 
congress the Emperors of Austria and Russia, the Kings of 
Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria, and Wurtemberg, and also a large 
number of princes and dukes. The Pope was represented by 
Cardinal Consalvi. England sent as her representatives Lord 
Castlereagh, the Duke of Wellington, Lords Cathcart, Clan- 
carty, and Stuart. The Bourbons of Erance were represented 
by Prince Talleyrand, and several others of the most illustri- 
ous of the ancienne noblesse. Ambassadors from Spain, Por- 
tugal, and Sweden, were also admitted to the deliberations. 
Prince Metternich, who has been justly styled, " The incarna- 
tion of Austrian despotism," presided. The result of the long 
deliberations was summed up in one hundred and twenty-one 
articles, which were signed on the 9th of June, 1815. By 
these treaties the Austrian despotism received vast accessions 
of strength. The constitutional kingdoms of Italy were an- 
nihilated; and the woe-stricken Italians, bound hand and foot, 
were surrendered again to their former masters. Austria re- 
ceived Venetia, Lombardy, Tuscany, Modena, Parma, and 
various other minor States. Naples was restored, re-enslaved, 
to the infamous Ferdinand. Austria constructed Venetia and 
Lombardy into a kingdom, over which she placed one of her 
archdukes as viceroy. The remaining States she parcelled out 
among her dukes and princes. Again the repose of the slave- 
plantation was spread over Europe. In reference to the acts 
of this congress of the allies, " The British Quarterly " says, — 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 519 

" The treaties of Vienna, though the most desperate efforts 
have been made by the English diplomatists to embalm them 
as monuments of political wisdom, are fast becoming as dead 
as those of Westphalia. In fact, they should be got under 
ground with all possible despatch ; for no compacts, so worth- 
less, so wicked, so utterly subversive of the rights of humanity, 
are to be found in the annals of nations." 

After the perpetration of this great crime, Austria remained 
comparatively quiet, with occasional outbreaks but no great 
change, until the year 1836. On the 8th of March of this 
year, the Emperor Francis died. Regarding his throne as the 
great bulwark of absolutism, he ever manifested the most re- 
lentless hostility to constitutional freedom. It is reported, 
that when his physician, Baron Stifft, in a congratulatory ad- 
dress upon his health, remarked, — 

"There is nothing, sire, like a good physical constitution," 
the emperor nervously interrupted him, exclaiming, — 

"What do you say? Let me never hear that word again ! 
Say my robust health, strong bodily system, but never say my 
constitution. I have no constitution ; and I never will have 
one." 

The death of Erancis produced no change in the national 
policy. He died at the age of sixty-seven, having outlived 
three of his four wives, and having manifested, it is said, at 
the death of each, about as much concern as " old Bluebeard 
himself." Ferdinand I. succeeded Francis, and governed his 
vast and discordant estates with ordinary ability until the 
revolution in Paris of 1848, which overthrew Louis Philippe, 
and introduced to France first the republic, and then the em- 
pire under Louis Napoleon. 

This immense revolution, overthrowing a despotism wielded 
for the benefit of the aristocracy, and introducing in its stead 
a despotism which maintained the cause of the people, shook 
all the realms of Austria like an earthquake. The significance 
of this revolution in France has not generally been understood 
in the United States. It has been generally regarded merely 
as a change of masters, France exchanging the despotic 



520 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

Bourbons for the equal despotism of Louis Napoleon. Instead 
of this, it was a radical change of administration, overthrowing 
the reign of aristocratic privilege, and introducing the reign 
of republican equality. In the present state of France, it is 
said that no government can stand which is not upheld by the 
energies of despotism. The people have, then, only to choose 
between a despotism upholding the assumptions of the aristoc- 
racy, and a despotism maintaining popular rights. Of course, 
they choose the latter. 

Thus the empire in France was re-established by the masses 
of the people. They drove aristocratic absolutism from the 
throne, and placed Louis Napoleon, the representative of de- 
mocracy, upon it; and they cheerfully gave into his hands 
enough of despotic power to enable him to maintain their 
rights against the immense pressure of all the nobles of France, 
combined with the sympathies of all the monarchies of Europe. 
With skill and fidelity never surpassed, Louis Napoleon has 
proved himself equal to the trust. Had his government been 
less decisive and energetic, long ago popular rights would have 
been trampled in the mire. Under his sway, France has risen 
to be at the head of all the European monarchies. 

A few years ago Louis Napoleon needed money. He ap- 
pealed to the people for a loan of one hundred and fifty mil- 
lions of dollars. In crowds they rushed to his treasury, bring- 
ing with them the almost incredible sum of nearly eight hun- 
dred millions of dollars, — five times as much as he asked for, 
or could consent to receive. This one fact sufficiently illus- 
trates how differently the people regard the dictatorial power 
they have placed, for their own defence, in the hands of Na- 
poleon, from the despotic power swayed by the Bourbons. 

A revolution of so marked a character taking place in 
France, of course, agitated Europe to .its centre. The Aus- 
trian provinces in Italy immediately arose to strike for freedom. 
By the treaty of Vienna, Sardinia had been constituted nomi- 
nally an independent kingdom, embracing the Island of Sar- 
dinia, and the continental provinces of Piedmont, Savoy, and 
Nice. This feeble kingdom was not allowed to retain the free 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 521 

institutions which it had enjoyed as a part of the kingdom of 
Italy under the protection of Napoleon ; but it was watched 
with an eagle eye, and was overawed by Austrian despotism 
on the one side, and by the re-established Bourbon despotism 
on the other. As the Italian provinces of Lombardy and 
Venetia rose to break from their Austrian masters, the Pied- 
montese, sympathizing with them, and also wishing to escape 
from the despotism ever brooding over their realm, marched to 
the aid of their brethren. 

The Austrians were driven out of Lombardy, and across 
the Mincio. Venetia threw off the hated yoke, and declared 
for independence. Hungary rose, almost as one man, demand- 
ing the restoration of their ancient constitutional rights. The 
doom of the hoary despotism seemed to be sealed ; but the sym- 
pathies of all the courts of Europe, excepting that of France, 
and even including England, were hostile to these peoples 
struggling for constitutional rights. In the pages of Sir 
Archibald Alison, the court historian, we meet with the most 
painful demonstration of this fact. 

"It is," says "The Edinburgh Review," "utterly repugnant 
to the first principles of our own policy and to every page in 
our own history, to lend encouragement to the separation of 
nationalities from other empires, which we fiercely resist when 
it threatens to dismember our own." 

Thus frowned upon by all Europe, and swept by the disci- 
plined armies which Austria poured down through all the 
passes of the Tyrolese Alps, Italy was again subdued. Eadetz- 
ky, in command of these forces, with tiger-like ferocity deso- 
lated the land with fire and sword. Sardinia was compelled 
to make a humiliating peace. The unhappy Italians were 
punished as slaves are punished who attempt an insurrection 
with partial success, but with final defeat. 

The conflict in Hungary, and around the very throne of the 
Austrian emperor, demands a more particular notice. The in- 
telligence of the revolution in Paris reached Vienna on the 1st 
of March, 1848. The whole population of the city was thrown 
into a state of the most intense excitement. The professors 



522 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA, 

of the University of Vienna, with the students, two thousand 
in number, accompanied by an immense concourse of the 
people, crowded the imperial palace, presenting a petition to 
the emperor, respectfully but firmly demanding that the gov- 
ernment should "introduce measures of reform tempered by 
wisdom." They implored a constitution which should confer 
religious liberty, freedom of the press, and a national legisla- 
ture, in which the people should be represented. 

Prince Metternich, who had ever been the great bulwark of 
despotism, was the especial object of popular hatred. In terror 
he fled from his palace, scarcely venturing to lay aside his dis- 
guise, or to look behind him, until he found refuge in London. 
Ferdinand, paralyzed and overpowered by the popular feeling, 
which in such resistless billows was dashing against his 
throne, granted all the patriots asked. The ministry was 
changed, a national guard organized, and despotic Austria 
seemed on the eve of regeneration. The people, demanding 
only a constitutional instead of an absolute monarchy, had no 
disposition to dethrone the emperor, and least of all did they 
desire to run the risk of attempting to exchange the monarchy 
for a republic. Gratified at the compliance of the emperor 
with their reasonable requests, they rallied around him with 
enthusiasm, greeting him with applause whenever he appeared. 
This event, so animating to every lover of human freedom, Sir 
Archibald Alison describes : — 

"As a convulsion which brought Austria to the brink of 
ruin, all but swept it from the book of nations, and reduced it 
to the humiliation of invoking the perilous intervention of a 
foreign power." 

The intelligence of the revolution in Paris reached Presburg, 
the capital of Hungary, when the diet of that kingdom was in 
session. Kossuth and the leading advocates of reform imme- 
diately sent an address to the Emperor Ferdinand, petition- 
ing for a redress of grievances in Hungary. The Hungarian 
patriots were willing that Hungary should remain under the 
executive of the Austrian emperor : they only demanded that 
they should have a legislature or parliament of their own, 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 523 

with freedom of the press and of religious worship. Such a 
request was reasonable and moderate in the extreme. 

Kossuth, accompanied by one hundred and fifty Hungarian 
gentlemen, repaired to Vienna, and presented this petition to 
the emperor. Immense crowds in Vienna greeted this delega- 
tion with shouts of " Long live Kossuth ! " The emperor, con- 
scious of his powerlessness, promised to grant their just de- 
mands. A constitution was adopted in Hungary, abolishing 
all aristocratic privileges, and making both prince and peasant 
equal in the eye of the law. The peasants in Hungary had 
long been feudal slaves, attached to the soil, and transferred 
with the estates, and deprived of all political rights. Kossuth 
and his friends carried in the Hungarian diet a decree of 
absolute and universal emancipation. 

"This sudden transition," it is recorded, "of the peasantry 
from servitude to civil and political liberty, was nowhere 
stained in Hungary by riots or disorder, as was feared, or per- 
haps hoped, by the court party : on the contrary, on most of 
the estates the peasantry contributed, by their own free will, 
to the work of the landlords during the time of mowing and 
harvesting, that the crops might not be damaged through any 
difficulty in securing hired laborers for those agricultural ope- 
rations." 

This beneficent revolution introduced the Sclavonic races to 
all the constitutional rights and privileges which had been so 
long withheld from them. The Magyars were consistent ; and, 
in acquiring liberty for themselves, they conferred the same 
inestimable boon upon the enslaved races. 

But Ferdinand, while making these forced concessions, and 
assuming content, was perfidiously preparing for resistance. 
An army was raised and sent into Hungary, and it endeavored 
to take possession of Prague. The Hungarians resisted. The 
Austrians planted their batteries on some neighboring heights, 
and for forty-eight hours bombarded the wretched city, until 
it presented the most awful aspect of smouldering ruins and 
blood. The patriots for a time were crushed ; but the cry of 
indignation was so loud and fierce, not only throughout Hun- 



524 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

gary, but through all the streets of Vienna, that Ferdinand, 
in terror aud disguise, escaped from his capital, and fled to 
Innspruck, a strong fortress in the Tyrol, three hundred miles 
south-west from Vienna. 

The flight of the emperor created throughout Austria a 
sensation hardly exceeded by that excited in France by the 
flight of Louis XVI. It was a declaration of war against the 
people, and against all popular reform. The standing army 
of Austria, ever the pliant tool of despotism, was now called 
into requisition. The imperial troops commenced, in Hun- 
gary, a war of devastation such as earth has not often wit- 
nessed. The sky through the wide horizon was illumined by 
night with the fires of burning villages, and was obscured by 
day by the smoke of these vast conflagrations. 

As we have before mentioned, there were two principal races 
in Hungary, — the Sclaves and the Magyars, descendants of 
ancient Gothic tribes. The Magyar race had been decidedly 
in the ascendency, the superior race, in the possession of all 
the political power; while the Sclaves, greatly depressed, oc- 
cupied the position of a servile peasantry. Nearly all the 
imperial troops drafted from Hungary were taken from the 
Sclaves, who composed about one-third of the Hungarian pop- 
ulation. With the most atrocious perfidy, Austrian gold was 
lavished to incite the Sclaves to rise against the Magyars, 
though there was no shadow of a plea for such action, the 
Sclavonic races having been reinstated in ail the rights and 
privileges of manhood. Many of the Sclaves, ignorant and 
debased, were induced to enlist in the army of the emperor. 

The emperor now returned to Vienna, and, with his troops 
ravaging Hungary, he issued an edict demanding the expul- 
sion of Kossuth, the leader of the patriots, from the Hungarian 
ministry. Kossuth was thus compelled to resign, and his post 
was assigned to a partisan of the emperor. But the people 
rallied around Kossuth, who had been sacrificed for his love for 
them ; and the cabinet at Vienna resolved with all the horrors 
of war to bring Hungary again into abject submission to its 
sway. 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 525 

On the lltli of September, 1848, an army of thirty thousand 
men, under the Austrian general Jellachich, crossed the Drave, 
the frontier river of Hungary, and marched upon Pesth. With 
singular unanimity, nearly all Hungary sprang to arms in 
self-defence. The troops were placed under the command of 
Georgey, a Hungarian noble, who had espoused the popular 
cause. But Kossuth was the intellectual head of the nation, 
and the soul of the war which now ensued. His genius in- 
spired every movement ; and the Hungarians rallied at his call 
with enthusiasm which perhaps has never been equalled. 
One hundred thousand men were speedily enrolled, and on the 
march to repel the invaders. 

The heads of the two armies came together in many bloody 
conflicts ; and the Austrians, routed again and again, were 
compelled to sue for an armistice. The popular party in 
Vienna were in strong sympathy with the Hungarians ; and it 
was with manifest reluctance that the Austrian troops could 
be brought to fight against those who asked only for constitu- 
tional liberty. Under these circumstances, a new revolution 
swept the streets of Vienna ; and in one day of frenzied up- 
roar and carnage the monarchy was again laid prostrate at 
the feet of the people. But though the populace, in their 
just and wild wrath, could destroy an execrable despotism, 
they had not sufficient intelligence and virtue to construct a 
stable government upon its ruins. 

A " committee of public safety " was appointed, at whose 
demand the emperor was compelled to dismiss his aristocratic 
ministry, and appoint a popular one in its stead. The emperor 
also recalled his proclamation against Hungary, removed the 
detested Jellachich from the command of the army, and grant- 
ed a general amnesty for all political offences. Again the 
emperor sought refuge in flight. All the troops who could be 
relied upon were speedily assembled around the emperor, 
from their wide dispersion throughout the empire, and were 
ordered to march upon Vienna. From the steeples of the city 
the dismayed inhabitants soon beheld an army of sixty thou- 
sand men — infantry, artillery, and cavalry — approaching to 



526 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

wreak upon them merciless vengeance. In a state of indescrib- 
able consternation the whole city sprang to arms. On the 
morning of the 20th of October, 1848, the bombardment 
commenced. The roar of artillery, the shouts of battle, the 
bursting of shells, the shrieks of the terrified, the cry of the 
wounded, the frenzy of women and children, ruin, conflagra- 
tion, blood, all presented a spectacle which the most vivid 
imagination cannot conceive. 

AH the day and all the night the horrible storm continued. 
The city was now on fire in twenty places. The streets were 
clogged with the mangled bodies of the dead. The flames, 
spreading rapidly, and flashing to the skies, threatened to con- 
sume the whole city and all its inmates. Shells, like hail- 
stones, were falling everywhere, and there was no place of 
safety. The city could no longer be defended, and was com- 
pelled to capitulate. The imperial army, composed mostly of 
mercenary troops, marched in ferociously, and took military 
possession of the city. All hopes of popular reform were now 
at an end ; and the old despotism was reconstructed, and 
cemented in the blood of the people. 

But Ferdinand I. was now weary of his crown, which to 
him had proved truly a crown of thorns. He resolved to ab- 
dicate ; and as he had no children, and as his brother Charles 
refused the perilous gift of sovereignty, the sceptre was trans- 
ferred to Francis Joseph, the son of Charles, a young man 
eighteen years of age. It was the 2d of December, 1848. 
The young emperor, hoping to quiet the restlessness of his 
re-enslaved people, promised to confer upon them a liberal con- 
stitution, — a promise which it became subsequently manifest 
that he had no intention of performing. The inhabitants 
of Vienna, exhausted by war, in submission, accepted the 
promise. 

But the inhabitants of Hungary, while willing to acknowl- 
edge the sovereignty of the emperor, still demanded a parlia- 
ment of their own. The kingdom of Hungary contained 
one hundred and thirty-three thousand square miles, being one- 
tenth larger than England and Ireland united, and numbered 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 527 

a population of about thirteen million. They firmly claimed, 
that, while they cordially accepted the executive authority of 
the Emperor of Austria, they should enjoy a Hungarian legis- 
lature. But the young emperor, Francis Joseph, flushed with 
the subjugation of his subjects in Austria proper, treated the 
demand as insolence. He abolished the Hungarian constitu- 
tion, dissolved the legislative bodies, and threw into prison the 
Hungarian commissioners sent to confer with him. At the 
same time the imperial army, which by a bombardment had 
so successfully chastised Vienna into subjection, was sent into 
Hungary to inflict the same doom upon Pesth, then the Hun- 
garian capital. 

All the horrors of civil war now desolated Hungary. Jella- 
chich, the Austrian commander-in-chief, issued a proclamation, 
in which he threatened to shoot every Hungarian taken with 
arms in his hands, and to demolish every town which should 
present the least resistance. As the imperial army with its 
veteran soldiers approached the capital, the Hungarian Govern- 
ment, with Kossuth at its head, retired to Debreczin, about 
two hundred miles east of Pesth. It was on the 5th of Janu- 
ary, 1849, when this retreat commenced ; and the Hungarian 
army, encumbered with thousands of citizens, women and chil- 
dren, suffered all that mortals can endure, multitudes perishing 
of cold, starvation, and misery. The Austrians took possession 
of Pesth ; but, with the mercury only five degrees above zero, 
they did not venture to pursue the retiring Hungarians. 

In this dark hour a speech from Kossuth seemed to electrify 
all Hungary ; and the nation, as one man, sprang to arms. 
Month after month the war raged all over the kingdom with 
varied success. But gradually the Hungarians were gaining 
ground. In battle after battle they were driving back their 
invaders ; and Austria found that her mercenary troops were 
not able to crush a heroic nation roused to despair. Francis 
Joseph then appealed to Russia for help. The great northern 
autocrat listened eagerly to the appeal ; for Nicholas feared, 
that, should the Hungarians secure constitutional liberty, the 
Polanders might demand the same boon. There was not a 



528 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

single nation in Europe in sympathy with the Hungarians, 
excepting France ; and France was then menaced with a coali- 
tion of all Europe to restore that aristocratic regime which 
for a fourth time she had rejected. Even the British Govern- 
ment, through Lord Palmerston, sanctioned the intervention 
of Russia in this cruel war against Hungary, assuming that 
the Hungarians were subjects in revolt against their lawful 
sovereign. 

The serried battalions of Russia were instantly on the 
march, a hundred and sixty-two thousand strong, to join the 
vast armies which Austria had raised, the two most powerful 
despotisms on the globe combining against a heroic people, 
demanding only a constitutional monarchy. Still Hungary 
bore up bravely, without one thought of yielding even to 
Russia and Austria in coalition. By a stupendous effort an 
army was raised of one hundred and forty thousand men. 
Renowned battles ensued, and victories were won, which 
struck the allies with dismay, and which caused every Hun- 
garian heart to throb with rapture. There were many deeds 
of valor and magnanimity performed by the Hungarians which 
merit immortal renown. But, unfortunately, there now arose a 
serious division among the Hungarian chiefs. Kossuth, the 
intellectual guide and head of the Hungarian struggle, was 
for declaring independence. Georgey, who was commander- 
in-chief of the army, was in favor of still remaining under the 
Austrian monarchy, seeking only the reform of abuses. The 
counsels of Kossuth triumphed ; and on the 14th of April, 
1849, Hungary issued her declaration of independence,, and 
Kossuth was by acclamation elected governor. There was 
extraordinary unanimity throughout the nation in these meas- 
ures; but Georgey, whose counsels had been rejected, was 
exceedingly chagrined and indignant. 

Austria and Russia now roused themselves to redoubled 
efforts. They raised a united army of two hundred and forty 
thousand men, and with this enormous force again marched 
upon Hungary. But there was no longer confidence between 
the governor of the republic and the commander-in-chief 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 529 

of the array. Georgey openly proclaimed his disapproval of 
the declaration of independence, and Kossuth watched him 
with an anxious eye. A series of unfortunate battles ensued, 
in which the Hungarians, though they fought with bravery 
never surpassed, were generally worsted. Treason was bit- 
terly suspected as the Hungarians were again and again over- 
powered. At last it became evident that Hungary must fall. 
These reverses, seeming to confirm the judgment of Georgey, 
strengthened his influence, and roused his party to more 
decisive action. 

Under these circumstances Kossuth resigned his office of 
governor, and Georgey was invested with dictatorial power. 
The other leading generals of the army, with Kossuth, felt 
that they had been betrayed. General Bern, in an interview 
with Georgey, was so impressed with the conviction of his 
treachery, that he refused to accept, in parting, his proffered 
hand. Mounting his horse, he galloped to meet at an appointed 
rendezvous, in the ancient forest of Lugos, several hundred of 
his fellow-soldiers, chiefly officers. 

"Hungary," said he, "has fallen, betrayed rather than 
conquered. To-morrow it will be proclaimed that l order 
reigns in Pesth,' — the order of the executioner. I have no 
wish to influence others; but so long as I have an inch of steel 
in my hand, or a brave man at my side, I will defend the cause 
to which I have devoted my body, my soul, my blood, and my 
life." 

Nearly the whole band received these words with acclama- 
tion, and, conscious of their inability any longer to maintain 
the struggle, retreated to the mountains of Transylvania. 
Georgey made an unconditional surrender of his whole army 
of nearly thirty thousand men, with one hundred and forty 
guns, to the Russians. The scene of surrender was made by 
the proud victor one of great military pomp and triumph, and 
to the vanquished it was as melancholy and humiliating as 
can well be imagined. This event took place at two o'clock in 
the afternoon of the 14th of August, 1849, at Szollos, which 
spot has thus been rendered forever memorable. 



530 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

At the same time, by the order of Georgey, all the fortresses 
in his possession, and the dispersed corps of the army, were 
surrendered to the allies, and Hungary was again a shackled 
slave at the feet of her conquerors. Confiscations, imprison- 
ments, and executions ensued, which extorted a wail of anguish 
so loud and prolonged, that it thrilled upon the ears of all 
Christendom. Georgey was pardoned; but fourteen of his 
highest officers, men whose virtues and heroism had secured 
the admiration of Europe, perished upon the scaffold. Kos- 
suth, accompanied by about five thousand Hungarians, escaped 
into the Turkish territory, and took refuge in Orsova, where 
they were nobly protected by the Sultan from their foes, clam- 
orous for their blood. From Turkey they finally secured a 
passage to England, and thence to America, and were scattered 
all over the world, the martyrs of liberty. 

Kossuth, after pleading in America the cause of his country 
in strains of eloquence never surpassed in Ancient Greece or 
Rome, returned to England, where he has since remained, 
almost the idol of every generous heart, despairingly awaiting 
the dawn of a brighter day. The infamous Haynau, who by 
his atrocities in sending the most illustrious men to the scaf- 
fold, and in causing ladies of the highest rank to be scourged, 
has acquired the nickname of the " Hangman " and the 
" Hyena," was appointed the Austrian governor of Hungary ; 
and he ruled the subjugated realm with a rod of iron. The 
constitution was annulled, trial by jury abolished, the censor- 
ship of the press established, and freedom of religious worship 
prohibited. The Jesuits were again restored to power. 

Austria, having been thus effectually aided by Russia, could 
not join England, France, and Turkey against the Czar in 
the campaign of Sevastopol. Francis Joseph assumed neutra- 
lity. But Nicholas was highly indignant that the Emperor 
of Austria did not fly to his aid. Consequently, at the close of 
the war, the Emperor of Russia, rejecting friendly intercourse 
with Austria, sought friendship and alliance with France. 
Still it was manifest that the interests of Russia and Austria 
were so identical, as the two leading aristocratic despotisms 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 531 

of Europe, that, to resist the people struggling for liberty, they 
would be compelled to unite. 

The rapid advance which Sardinia has recently been making 
in the path of constitutional liberty was exciting the Austrian 
dominions in Italy to strike for the same progress. Austria, 
alarmed, sent an army of two hundred thousand men into 
Sardinia. France immediately sent an army, which the em- 
peror led in person, to aid the Sardinians to repel the invaders. 
In every battle the Austrians were routed. They were driven 
out of Piedmont and of Lombardy; and, after the dreadful 
carnage of Magenta and Solferino, the French and Sardinians 
were about to drive the Austrians from Yenetia, and thus 
entirely from Italy, when Russia, Prussia, and England inter- 
posed their remonstrances. Their threat to unite with Aus- 
tria against France, Sardinia, and all Italy, then rising in 
arms, which would have introduced, probably, the most desolat- 
ing war earth has ever known, compelled France and Sardinia 
to assent to the treaty of peace called the Treaty of Villafranca. 

By this treaty Lombardy was wrested from Austria, and, 
to the inexpressible joy of its inhabitants, united with the 
Italian kingdom of Sardinia. The Duchies of Tuscany, Par- 
ma, and Modena also drove off their Austrian masters, and, 
protected by France against Austrian invasion, joined also 
the Sardinian kingdom. The Venetians, from the highest 
elations of hope, were again plunged into unutterable despair, 
as they were left helpless in the hands of their detested mas- 
ters. Hungary, also, was on the eve of a new struggle for 
liberty, elated by the fact that the Austrian army was fully 
engrossed by the struggle with France and Sardinia. New 
gleams of joy began to penetrate the despairing mind of Kos- 
suth. He repaired to Italy, issued a proclamation to his 
countrymen, and in a few weeks would have been at the head 
of all Hungary in arms, when the peace of Villafranca blight- 
ed all their prospects, liberating a veteran army of two hun- 
dred thousand Austrian troops to crush the slightest movement 
of the Hungarian people. 

But again Venetia and Hungary are grasping their arms, 



532 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

preparing to strike simultaneously and desperately for free- 
dom. The wonderful success of Garibaldi, in emancipating 
Sicily and Naples from intolerable despotism, and annexing 
them to the Sardinian kingdom, thus forming a kingdom of 
Italy consisting of nearly twenty million of inhabitants, proba- 
bly secures the emancipation of the Papal States, also, from the 
detested sway of the Pope. This will unite all Italy, except- 
ing Venetia, in the Kingdom of Italy. This will certainly be 
followed by a rising of the Venetians to break the Austrian 
yoke, and unite with their Italian brethren. Austria will 
pour her armies into Venetia; and Hungary will instantly 
rise. Russia, it is said, is even now preparing to march to the 
help of Austria. Prance, it is said, is prepared to march to 
the help of Italy. What will the British Government do ? 

The last arrivals from Europe announce the following as 
the substance of an important telegram recently received from 
Vienna : — 

" The Emperor Alexander and his government desire sin- 
cerely a perfect reconciliation with Austria. The good under- 
standing between Austria and Russia ought never to have 
been interrupted. The necessary arrangement for a meeting 
between the two emperors will be made without delay ; and 
measures will be taken to put an end to the present state of 
things, which is no longer tolerable." 

Such is the attitude of Austria, and of these great questions 
of reform, as the autumnal leaves of 1860 are falling to the 
ground. 

This powerful empire, as at present constituted, embraces : — 

1. The hereditary States of Austria, containing 76,199 square miles, 9,843,490 inhabitants. 

2. The duchy of Styria " 8,454 " " 780,100 " 

3. Tyrol " 11,569 " " 738,000 

4. Bohemia " 20,172 " " 3,380,000 " 

5. Moravia «* 10,192 ■ ■ 1,805,500 

6. TheduchyofAuschnitzinGalicia " 1,843 " " 335,190 " 

7. niyria " 9,132 " « 897,000 " 

8. Hungary. " 125,105 " " 10,628,500 " 

9. Dalmatia " 5,827 " " 320,000 " 

10. Venetia " 8,270 " " 2,000,000 " 

11. Galicia " 32,272 " " 4,075,000 

Thus the whole Austrian monarchy contains 256,399 square 



AUSTRIA AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS. 533 

miles, and a population which now probably exceeds forty mil- 
lions. The standing army of this immense monarchy in time 
of peace consists of 271,400 men, which includes 39,000 horse 
and 17,790 artillery. In time of war this force can be in- 
creased to almost any conceivable amount. 

Thus slumbers this vast despotism, in the heart of central 
Europe, the China of the Christian world. The utmost vigi- 
lance is practised by the government to seclude its subjects, 
as far as possible, from all intercourse with more free and en- 
lightened nations. The government is in continual dread lest 
the kingdom should be invaded by those liberal opinions 
which are circulating in other parts of Europe. The young 
men are prohibited, by an imperial decree, from leaving Aus- 
tria to prosecute their studies in foreign universities. "Be 
careful," said Francis II. to the professors in the university at 
Labach, "not to teach too much. I do not want learned men 
in my kingdom : I want good subjects, who will do as I bid 
them." Some of the wealthy families, anxious to give their 
children an elevated education, and prohibited from sending 
them abroad, engaged private tutors from France and England. 
The government took the alarm, and forbade the employment 
of any but native teachers. The Bible, the great chart of 
human liberty, all despots fear and hate. In 1822 a decree 
was issued by the emperor, prohibiting the distribution of the 
Bible in any part of the Austrian dominions. 

The censorship of the press is rigorous in the extreme. No 
printer in Austria would dare to issue the sheet we now write ; 
and no traveller would be permitted to take this book across the 
frontier. Twelve public censors are established at Vienna, to 
whom every book published within the empire, whether origi- 
nal or reprinted, must be referred. No newspaper or maga- 
zine is tolerated which does not advocate despotism. Only 
those items of foreign intelligence are admitted into those 
papers which the emperor is willing his subjects should know. 
The freedom of republican America is carefully excluded. 
The slavery which disgraces our land is ostentatiously ex- 
hibited in harrowing descriptions and appalling engravings as 



534 THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

a specimen of the degradation to which republican institu- 
tions doom the laboring class. 

A few years ago an English gentleman dined with Prince 
Metternich, the illustrious prime minister of Austria, in his 
beautiful castle upon the Rhine. As they stood, after dinner, 
at one of the windows of the palace, looking out upon the 
peasants laboring in the vineyards, Metternich, in the follow- 
ing words, developed his theory of social order : — 

" Our policy is to extend all possible material happiness to 
the whole population ; to administer the laws patriarchally ; 
to prevent their tranquillity from being disturbed. Is it not 
delightful to see those people looking so contented, so much in 
the possession of what makes them comfortable, so well fed, 
so well clad, so quiet, and so religiously observant of order? 
If they are injured in persons or property, they have immedi- 
ate and unexpensive redress before our tribunals ; and, in that 
respect, neither I nor any nobleman in the land has the 
smallest advantage over a peasant." 



INDEX. 



A. 



Adolphus (of Nassau) election of over the 
Germanic empire, 86. 
summoned to answer charges 

against him, 37. 
deposed by the diet, 37. 
death of, 37. 
Adrian assumes the tiara, 114. 
JSneas Sylvius, remarks of, 72. 
Agnes (daughter of Cunegunda) to marry 
Rhodolph's son, 81. 
engaged in the massacre, 40. 
enters a convent, 41. 
Aix-la-Chapelle, coronation of Albert I. 
at,3S. 
coronation of Charles 

V. at, 107. 
taken possession of by 

Khodolph, 193. 
peace of, 461. 
Albert (fourth Count of Hapsburg), 17. 
departure of for the holy war, 17. 
address of to his sons, 18. 
death of, 18. 

the favorite captain of Frederic II., 
19. 
Albert I. succeeds his father, 35. 
his character, 35. 
elected Emperor of German v, 37. 
victor at Gelheim, 37. 
assassination of, 40. 
Albert III. rules with Otho, 46. 

acquisitions of, 47. 
Albert IV., succession of, 51. 

improvements projected by, 
5S. 
Albert V. declared of age, 59. 

accepted King of Hungary, 62. 
death of, 65. 
Albert (of Bavaria) declines the throne of 

Hungary, 66. 
Albert (Archduke) the candidate of the 

Catholics, 229. 
Alliance of barons to crush Rhodolph of 
Hapsburg, 21. 
same dissolved, 22. 
Alphonso (of Castile) candidate for crown 

of Germany, 23. 
Alphonso (King of Naples), abdication of, S4. 
Amurath, conquests of, 64. 
Anabaptists, rise of the sect of, 115. 
A-Nhalt (Prince of), dispatched with a list of 
grievances to the emperor, 211. 



Anhalt (Prince of) (continued), address 
to the emperor, 212. 
ban of the empire declared against, 
265. 
Ann (Princess of Hungary and Bohemia), 

marriage of to Ferdinand I., 145. 
Anna (of Russia), desire of to secure a har- 
bor for Russia, 400. 
Anecdotes of Rhodolph, 33. 

of Charles V., 144. 
Apology of Maximilian, 96. 
Asciiiiausen, confederacy at, 194. 
Augsburg, diet of, 24. 

bold speech of the diet at, 102. 
triumphal reception of Maurice 

at, 133. 
Confession of, 118. 
Augustus II. loses and regains his empire, 
382. 
death of, 3S2. 
Aulio Council, establishment of the, 102. 
Austria, a portion of given as dowry to 
Hedwige, 25. 
nucleus of the empire of, 27. 
invasion of by John of Bohemia, 

49. 
wonderful growth of, 52. 
division of, 72. 

accession of Ladislaus over, 81. 
the house of invested with new 

dignity, 101. 
becomes a part of Spain, 108. 
the empire of apparently on the 

eve of dissolution, 286. 
the leading power in Europe, 314. 
dispute as to the succession to the 

crown of, 352. 
treaty between Spain and, 373. 
Maria Theresa ascends the throne 

of, 415. 
deplorable state of at that time, 

415. 
defeat of by Frederic, 420. 
the proposed division of, 422. 
prosperity of, 444. 
important territory wrested from, 

453. 
alliance of with Prussia, 459. 
Joseph II. ascends the throne of, 

491. 
situation and character of, 492. 
languages spoken in, 493. 
Leopold ascends the throne of, 
500. 



508 



INDEX. 



Austria (continued), acquisitions of by 
the battle of Waterloo, 504. 
present constitution of, 504. 
doctrines of the government of, 

503. 
its future, 506. 
Austrians, triumph of the at Brussels, 340. 
triumph of the at Malplaquet, 

341. 
evacuation of Madrid by the, 

345. 
prohibited from trading with 

Spain, 380. 
the, driven from the Neapolitan 

States, 388. 
the, defeated at Crotzka, 407. 



B. 



Baden, peace of, 359. 
Bajazet, victory achieved by, 64. 
Balder, attack of Khodolph upon, 22. 
Ballot-box, its authority in Poland, 385. 
Balne (Lord), followers of put to death, 40. 
Banditti, companies of put down by Kho- 
dolph, 32. 
Barbaria, wife of Sigismond, 60. 
Barcelona, capture of by Charles, 354. 
Basle, attack upon the city of, 20. 

demands of the Bishop of upon 

Khodolph, 22. 
impious remark of the Bishop of, 

23. 
aid of the Bishop of to Khodolph, 29. 
Bavaria (Henry, Duke of), intimidated by 
Khodolph, 25. 
marriage of Hedwige to Otho of, 

25. 
agrees to carry the edict of Worms 

into effect, 114. 
his hatred of Wallenstein, 275. _ 
urged as a candidate for the im- 
perial crown, 279. 
dishonorable despair of, 438. 
death of, 4S8. 
Bavaria (Charles of), death of, 451. 
Bavaria, Maximilian Joseph ascends the 

throne of, 451. 
Bayard (Chevalier De), the knight without 

fear or reproach, 90. 
Belgrade, relief of 69. 
siege of, 360. 

capture of by Eugene, 363. 
surrendered to the Turks, 408. 
Belleisle (General), heroic retreat of, 441. 
Blenheim, massacre at, 334. 
Bloody diet, the, 158. 

theater of Eperies, 325. 
Bohemia, triumphal march of Khodolph 
into, 80. 
the crown of demanded bv Al- 
bert I., 39. 
revolt in, 39. 

rise of the nobles of against Fer- 
dinand, 127. 
the monarchy of, 154. 
religious conflicts in. 155. 
resistance of to Ferdinand, 156. 
eymptoms of the decay of, 160. 
Ferdinand's blow at, 263. 
severity of Ferdinand towards, 
270. 



Bohemia (continued), son of Ferdinand 
crowned king of, 271. 
change of prosperity of during 

reign of Ferdinand II., 272. 
rise of the Protestants in, 286. 
the Elector of Bavaria crowned 

king of, 434. 
the Prussians driven from, 450. 
(King of), chosen Emperor of 
Germany, 431 . 
Brandenburg, reply of the Marquis of to 

Charles V., 118. 
British Minister, letter of the in regard 
to Maria Theresa. 295. 
letter of the in regard 
to the affairs in Hun- 
gary, 416. 
Britnatj, the Protestant church of, 235. 
Brunswick, marriage of Charles VI. to 
Elizabeth Christina of, 164. 
Brussels, diet at, 139. 
Buda taken by the Turks, 147. 
Bull (see Pope). 

Burghers prevented from attending Prot- 
estant worship, 188. 
Burgundy (Duke of), ambition of the, 77. 
Burgundy (Mary of), marriage of by proxy, 
79. 
death of, 79. 



C. 



Cesar Borgia, plans for, 89. 
Calendar, the Julian and Gregorian, 192. 
Campegio, a legate from the Pope to. 114. 
Capistrun, John, rousing eloquence of, 69. 
Cardinal Kleses, counselor to the king, 
241. 
abduction of, 242. 
Carinthja, dukedom of, 48. 
Carlos crowned as Charles III., 388. 
Carlovitz, treaty of, 326. 
Cass a u captured by Botskoi, 198. 
Castle (Hawk's), situation of, 17. 

(Oeltingen), the dowry of Gertrude 
of Hohenburg, 19. 
Catharine II. ascends the throne of Rus- 
sia, 480. 
cooperates with Austria. 4S1. 
desire of to acquire Constan- 
tinople, 495. 
grand excursion of, 496. 
places Count Poniatowski on 
the throne of Poland, 484. 
Catherine Bora, marriage of to Luther, 

114. 
Chancellor of Saxony, reading of the Con- 
fession of Augs- 
burg by, 118. 
reply of to the 
emperor, 118. 
Charles of Bohemia, succession of to the 
kingdom of Aus- 
tria, 47. 
death of, 47. 
Charles Emanuel (King of Sardinia) char- 
acter of, 3S6. 
Charles Gustavus succeeds Christina, 
Queen of Sweden, 
302. 
his invasion of Po- 
land, 303. 



IND E X 



509 



Charles Gitstavus, energy of, 305. 
Charles (Prince), defeat of by Frederie, 

254 
Charles (Prince of Lorraine) marriage of, 

447. 
Charles II., the throne of Spain held by, 
328. 
sends embassage to the pope, 
329. 

induced to bequeath the 

crown to France, 330. 
death of, 331. 
Charles III. crowned King of Spain, 332. 

army of routed, 340. 

arrival of at Barcelona, 342. 

desperate condition of, 344. 

flight of, 346. 

description of his appearance, 
353. 

dilatoriness of, 355. 

crowned king, 356. 
• Carlos crowned as, 38S. 
(See also Charles VI.) 
Charles V. (of Spain) inherits the Austrian 

States, 106. 
petitions to, 106. 
required to sign a constitution, 

108. 
ambition of, 109. 
apologetic declaration of, 112. 
refusal of to violate his safe 

conduct, 112. 
attempts of to bribe Luther, 

113. 
determination of to suppress 

religious agitation, 115. 
interview of with the pope at 

Bologna, 117. 
call of for the diet at Augsburg, 

117. 
intolerance of, 119. 
appeal of to the Protestants for 

aid, 122. 
in violation of his pledge, turns 

against the Protestants, 122. 
secret treaty of with the King 

of France, 123. 
treaty of with the Turks, 123. 
forces secured by against the 

Protestants, 124. 
alarm of at the preparations of 

the Protestants, 125. 
preparations of to enforce the 

Council of Trent, 125. 
march of to Iuajolstadt, 126. 
flight of toLandshut, 126. 
triumph of over the Protest- 
ante, 126. 
conquers the Elector of Sax- 
ony, 128. 
revenge of towards the Elector 

of Saxony, 128. 
march to Wittemberg, 128. 
visit to the grave of Luther, 

129. 
attempts of to settle the relig- 
ious differences, 129. 
attempt of to establish the in- 
quisition in Burgundy, 129. 
power of over the pope, 130. 
calls a diet at Augsburg. 130. 
failure of to accomplish the 

election of Philip, 131. 



Charles Y. (of Spain) 'continual) con- 
founded at the success 0/ 
the Protestants, 133. 
flight of from Maurice, 133. 
unconquerable will of, 135. 
urged to yield, 136. 
fortune deserting, 137. 
extraordinary despondency oil 

138. 
abdication of in favor of Philip, 

his son, 139. 
enters the convent of St. Jus-' 

tus, 141. 
convent life of, 141. 
death of, 143. 
anecdotes of, 144. 
attempt of to abdicate the 
elective crown of Germany 
to Ferdinand, 160. 
Charles VI. (see also Charles III. for pre- 
vious information), limita- 
tions imposed on the power 
of, 356. 
desertion of by his allies, 357. 
addition of Wallachia and 
Servia to the dominion of, 
364. 
marriage of, 364 
his alteration of the compact 
established by Leopold, 364. 
power of, 365. 
involved in duplicity, 377. 
insult to, 380. 

ambition of to secure the 
throne of Spain for his 
daughters, 382. 
the loss of Lombardy felt by, 

387. 
attempt of to force assistance 

from France, 390. 
his first acknowledgment of 
the people, in his letter to 
Count Kinsky, 391. 
interference of in Poland, 393. 
sends Strickland to London 
to overthrow the cabinet, 
391. 
troubles of in Italy, 394. 
distraction of, 396. 
proposal of for a settlement 

with France, 397. 
humbled by loss of empire, 

398. 
a scrupulous Eomanist, 400. 
removal of all the Protestants 

from the army, 404. 
fears of for the safety of Ma- 
ria Theresa, 406. 
anguish of at the surrender 

of Belgrade, 411. 
letter of to the Queen of Eus- 

sia, 412. 
death of, 414. 
Charles VII., death of, 451. 
Charles VIII. informed of the league 
against him, 88. 
death of, 89. 
Charles XII. joins the Austrian party, 338. 
death of, 368. 
conquests of, 382. 
Chazleait, battle of, 435. 
Christiana, the succession of Sweden con- 
ferred upon, 280. 



510 



INDEX 



Christiana {continued) abdicates in favor 

of Charles Gustavus, 302. 
Christian IV. (of Denmark), leader of the 
Protestants, declares war, 
267. 
conquered by Ferdinand, 
263. 
Church, exactions of the, 102. 
Cilll, influence of Count over Ladislaus, 
68. 
driven from the empire, 68. 
Clement VII. succeeds Adrian as pope, 116. 
Cleves, duchy of put in sequestration, 213. 
Cologne, the Archbishop of joins the Prot- 
estants, 124. 
deposition of the Archbishop of, 
126. 
Conduct, Luther presented with a safe, 110. 
Confession of Augsburg, 118. 

reading of, 119. 
Congress at Eothenburg, 226. 
at Hanau, 445. 

at Prague, 161S, and letter of to 
Matthias, 236. 
of electors at Frankfort, 35. 
Conspiracy against Albert, 36. 

formed by Albert against Adol- 
phus, 37. 
Constantinople, capture of by the Turks, 

64. 
Constitution, Charles V. required to sign 

a, 10S. 
Council of Trent, 124. 

of Trent in 1562, 164. 
of State convened in Spain, 331. 
Cremnitz, resistance of, 148. 
Cremonia to be disposed of as plunder, 89. 
Croatia invaded by the Turks, 195. 
Crotzka. battle of, 407. 
Crusade against the Turks, 64. 
Cunegunda (wife of Ottocar), her taunts, 
27. 
offer of to place Bohemia un- 
der the protection of Rho- 
dolph, 31. 



D. 



Danube, position of Austria on the, 25. 
Daun (Count), honors of at his victory, 473. 
Denmark, the King of obliged to yield to 

Charles Gustavus, 306. 
Diepold thrown from the palace by the 

mob, 328. 
Diet, command of the of Augsburg to Otto- 
car, 14. 
at Augsburg, 118. 
at Augsburg, 130. 
at Brussels. 139. 
at Lubec, 269. 
at Prague, in 1547, 158. 
at Prague, 179. 

the Protestant at Prague, 209. 
decrees of the, 210. 
at Passau, 137. 
its agreement as to the rights of the 

Protestants, 138. 
at Pilgram, 66. 
at Presburs:, accusation of Leopold 

by the, 309. 
at Katisbon, 179. 
at Spires, 116. 



Diet {continued) at Stetzim, 849. 
demands of, 350. 
at Worms, 86. 
refusal of the at "Worms to cooperate 

with Maximilian, 96. 
at Znaim, 61. 

power of the Hungarian, 308. 
Doctrine of the three parties, 190. 

ancient and modern, contention 
about shadowy points of, 255. 
Dresden, treaty of, 458. 



E. 



Ernest, death of, 202. 

Eleonora (wife of Leopold), her character, 
335. 
marriage of, 336. 
her death, 837. 
Elfsnaben, a fleet assembled at by Gus- 
tavus Adolphus, 281. 
Elizabeth (wife of Philip V.), ambition of, 
371. 
demands of on Charles VI., 372. 
Elizabeth (of Russia), death of, 479. 
Emerio Tekeli invested with the Hunga- 
rian forces, 319. 
England, assistance of against the Turks, 
94. 
supports the house of Austria 

against France, 832. 
curious contradictory conduct of, 

346. 
pledge of to support the Prag- 
matic Sanction, 880. 
supports Austria to check 

France, 428. 
determines to support Maria 

Theresa, 436. 
prodigality of, 447. 
war declared against by France, 

448. 
purchases the aid of Poland, 452. 
private arrangement of with 

Prussia, 457. 
remonstrated with for its treat- 
ment of the queen, 463. 
alliance of with Prussia, 466. 
a subsidy voted Prussia by, 475. 
alarmed at the strides of Austria 
and Russia, 499. 
Eperies, tribunal at, 824. 
Ernest, conquests of, 59. 
Eugene (Prince) commands the Austrian 
army, 332. 
his heroic capture of Belgrade, 363. 
his disapproval of the war, 389. 
death of, 398. 
funeral honors of. 399. 
Europe, condition of the different powers 

of, 269. 
Excommunication of the Venetians, 97. 



F. 



Family of Rhodolph, 25. 

the three daughters of the imperial, 
364. 
Ferdinand (of Austria) invested wit! the 
government of the Austrian 
States, 113. 



INDEX 



511 



Ferdinand (of Austria) (continued) deter- 
mines to arrest Protestant- 
ism, 114. 
assumes some impartiality, 116. 
chosen King of the Romans, 

120. 
Bohemia and Hungary added 

to his kingdom, 146. 
demands the restitution of Bel- 
grade, 146. 
his siege of Buda, 153. 
tribute of to the Turks, 153. 
his attempts to weaken the 
power of the Hungarian no- 
bles, 155. 
conditions of his pardon of the 

Hungarian nobles, 157. 
his punishment of the revolt- 

ers, 158. 
his establishment of the Jesuits 

in Bohemia, 158. 
his inconsistencies, 158. 
obtains the crown of Germany, 

161. 
opposed by the pope, 162. 
elected Emperor of Germany, 

233. 
character of, 234. 
rich spoils of, 273. 
he assembles a diet at Eatisbon, 

275. 
perplexity of in regard to the 
demands of the diet, 277. 
Ferdinand (King of Arragon) furnishes 
supplies for the war against 
the Venetians, 95. 
Ferdinand (of Naples), flight of to Ischia, 

85. 
Ferdinand (King of the Romans) crowned 
at Ratisbon, 302. 
his death, 302. 
Ferdinand L, illustrious birth of, 145. 
marriage of, 145. 
efforts of to unite Protest- 
ants and Catholics, 164. 
attempts of to prevent the 
spread of Protestantism, 
167. 
the founder of the Austrian 

empire, 168. 
death of, 168. 
Ferdinand II., manifesto of, 240. 

abduction of Cardinal 

Kleses by, 242. 
troops of defeated by the 

Protestants, 243. 
refers the complaints of 
the Protestants to arbi- 
tration, 343. 
unpopularity of with the 

Catholics, 247. 
unexpected rescue of, 249. 
elected King of Germany, 

250. 
concludes an alliance with 

Maximilian, 254. 
secures the cooperation of 
the Elector of Saxony 
and Louis XIII., 256. 
subdues Austria, 257. 
barbarity of the troops of, 

258. 
vengeance of, 263. 



Ferdinand II. vntinued), meeting at 
Ratisbon to approve the 
acts of, 265. 
victories of, 268. 
capture of the duchies of 

Mecklenburg, 268. 
seizes Pomerania, 268. 
revokes all concessions to 

the Protestants, 270. 
son of crowned King of 

Bohemia, 271. 
manifesto of against Gus- 

tavus Adolphus, 283. 
decorous appreciation of to 
the memory of Gustavus 
Adolphus, 296. 
outwitted by a Capuchin 

friar, 279. 
succeeds in securing the 
election of his son Ferdi- 
nand, 299. 
his death, 299. 
Ferdinand III. ascends the throne, 245. 

his proposal for a truce 

with Prague, 246. 
desire of for peace, 300. 
succeeds in securing the 
election of his son as 
Ferdinand King of the 
Romans, 302. 
death of, 303. 
Fleury (Cardinal), ascendancy of over 

Louis XV., 378. 
Florence threatened by Louis XII., 90. 
France, influence of in. wresting sacrifices 
from the emperor, 279. 
the dominant power, 315. 
fraud by which obtained posses- 
sion of Spain, 331. 
condition of under Louis XIV., 

357. 
refusal of to engage in the Polish 

war, 390. 
design of to deprive Maria Theresa 

of her kingdom, 42S. 
declares war against England, 

448. 
alliance of effected with Austria, 
467. 
Francis (of France) claims Austria, 106. 
perfidy of, 127. 
death of, 128. 
Francis I. (Duke of Lorraine) elected Em- 
peror of Germany, 457. 
Francis II. ascends the throne, 504. 
Francis Ravaillao, the assassin of Henry 

IV., 215. 
Frankfort, congress at, 35. 
Frederic (King of Naples), doom of, 92. 
Frederic (of Saxony), friendly seizure of 
Luther by, 113. 
death of, 114. 
Frederic I. (the Handsome), capture of, 
43. 

surrender of, 44. 
death of, 45. 
Frederic II. (of Germany), renown of, 18 
death of, 482. 

curious occupations of, 483. 
Frederic II. (of A.ustria), treachery of, 75. 
wanderings of, 77. 
death of, SI. 
Frederic V., character of, 251. 



512 



INDEX 



Fkederic V ontlnued) accepts the crown 
of Bohemia, 251. 
inefficiency of, 258. 
Ms feast during the assault, 

258. 
renounces all claim to Bohe- 
mia, 259. 
flight of, 262. 

his property sequestrated, 264. 
Fkedekic (King of Bohemia, Elector of 

Palatine), death of, 296. 
Fkedekic (of Prussia), demands of, 417. 
seizure of Silesia by, 418. 
triumphal entrance into Breslau, 

419. 
his defeat of Neuperg, 420. 
opinions of on magnanimity, 

423. 
his indignation at the small con- 
cessions of Austria, 424. 
implores peace, 433. 
violation of his pledge, 435. 
capture of Prague by, 449. 
surprises and defeats Prince 

Charles, 454. 
invasion of Saxony by, 458. 
explanation demanded from 

Austria by, 469. 
artifice of to entrap the allies, 

470. 
defeat of at Prague, 473. 
recklessness of, 476. 
undaunted perseverance of, 477. 
despair of, 479. 
secures an alliance with Prussia, 

4S0. 
letter of to Maria Theresa, 488. 
peaceful reply of, 500. 
French, the, driven out of Italy, 94. 

the, routed near Brussels, 340. 

rout of at Brussels. 340. 

defeat of the at Malplaquet, 341. 



Gabriel Bethlehem chosen leader in the 
Hungarian revolu- 
tion, 152. 
he retires to Pres- 

burg, 253. 
compelled to sue for 
peace, 268. 
Gelheim, battle of, 37. 
Gallas appointed commander in place of 

Wallenstein, 268. 
Genoa, aid furnished Leopold by, 811. 
Germany, its conglomeration of States, IS. 
independence of each State of, 

18. 
position of the Emperor of, 19. 
decline of the imperial dignity 

of, 85. 
its division into ten districts, 

101. 
growing independence in of the 

pope, 162. 
tranquillity of under Ferdinand, 

172. 
rejoicing in at the downfall of 

Rhodolph, 225. 
divided into two leagues, 253. 
distracted state of. 299. 



Germany (continued), religious agitation 
in, 370. 
the Elector of Bavaria chosen 
Emperor of, 434. 
Gertrude (of Hohenburg), marriage of to 
Rhodolph of Hapsburg, 19. 
her dowry, 19. 
Ghiakadadda to be "bestowed on Venice, 

89. 
Gibraltar taken by the English, 339. 
Golden Fleece, establishment of the or- 
der of the, 372. 
Gran, capture of the fortress at, 324. 
Great Wardein, siege of, 307. 

the Turks retain, 313. 
Grenader, the plot at, 92. 
Grievances complained of by the confed- 
eracy at Heilbrun, 192. 
Guicciardini, remark of Charles V. about, 

144. 
Gunpowder, its introduction, 82. 
Guntz, triumphant resistance of the for- 
tress of, 150. 
Gustavus Vasa (King of Sweden), league 
with against Charles V., 
127. 
Gustavus Adolphus, rouses the country 
against Ferdinand 
II., 280. 
assembles a fleet at 

Elfsnaben, 281. 
Stettin captured by, 

281. 
Mark of Branden- 
burg taken posses- 
sion of by, 281. 
conquers at the bat- 
tle of Leipsic, 2S5. 
his tranquil cam- 
paign, 286. 
his intrenchment at 

Nuremberg, 290. 
his attack on Wal- 
lenstein, 293. 
his death, 293. 
relics of, 295. 



Hanau, conference at, 445. 

Hanover, title of the Elector of to the 

crown of England, 867. 
Hawk's Castle. (See Castle.) 
Hedwige, wife of Albert of Hapsburg, 18. 

betrothal of, 53. 
Helvetic States, independence of ac- 
knowledged, S9. 
Henry (Duke of Anjou), abdication of the 
throne of Poland, 180. 
succeeds Charles IX., 180. 
Henry (Duke of Carinthia) chosen king, 39. 
Henry (Count cf Luxemburg) elected Em- 
peror of Austria, 41. 
his death, 41. 
Henry (of Valois) succeeds Charles IX., 

171. 
Henry VIII. (of England) claims Austria, 

107. 
Hknky IV. (of France), efforts of to unite 
Lutherans and Calvinists, 
190. 
political course of, 214. 



INDEX. 



513 



Henry IV. (of France) (continued), assas- 
sination of, 215. 
his plans for remodeling Eu- 
rope, 216. 
Hockkirchen, battle of, 475. 
Holy League, formation of, 116. 
Hungarians, the, summons a diet, 349. 

the. remonstrate with Leo- 
pold, 501. 
(see also Hungary.) 
Hungary, despotism of Khodolph III. in, 
196. 
new revolt in, 307. 
attempt of Leopold to establish 

despotic power in, 317. 
rise of against Leopold, 333. 
troubles in observed by Joseph 

I., 349. 
enthusiastic support of Maria 

Theresa in, 432. 

(see also Hungarian.) 

Hunniades (John), regent of Hungary, 68. 

popularity of, 68. 

death of, 71. 

Hymn, sinking of a by the army of Gus- 

tavus on the field of battle, 292. 



Isabella (wife of Frederic), death of, '15. 
Isabella (of Spain), determination of to ob- 
tain for her son the crown of 
Hungary, 152. 
propositions of to Ferdinand for 
peace, 154. 
Imperial Chamber, creation of the, 87. 
Inuolstadt, Charles V. marches to, 126. 
Inmspkuck, arrival of the Duke of Ludovico 
at, 90. 
the emperor sick at, 103. 
the palace at surrendered to 
pillage, 134. 
Insurrection in Vienna, 36. 
of Suabia, 55. 
Inzendorf, the Lord of arrested by Mat- 
thias, 206. 
Ischia, flight of Ferdinand to the island of, 

85. 
Italy, invasion of by Mahomet II., 82. 

victories of Henry of France in, 136. 
invaded by the Spaniards, 388. 
invaded by the French and Span- 
iards, 452. 



Jaghellon, the Grand Duke, 53. 

marriage of Hedwige to, 54. 
baptism of, 54. 

(for further reference see Lad- 
islaus.) 
James I., matrimonial negotiations of, 266. 
Jeanette Poisson (see Marchioness of 

Pompadour). 
Jesuits, the, expelled from Prague, 239. 
Joanna (of Spain), insanity of, 106. 
John (of Bohemia), character of, 46. 

his invasion of Austria, 49. 
John Sigismond, death of, 178. 
John Sobieski goes to the relief of Vienna, 



22 



JonN Sobieski (continued), enthusiastic re- 
ception of, 322. 
refuses to fight Tekeli, 324. 
John (the Constant) succeeds Frederic, 

Elector of Saxony, 114. 
John (of Tapoli), negotiations of with tho 
Turks for the throne of Hungary, 
151. 
marriage and death of, 52. 
John (of Medici) elected pope, 100. 
Joseph (of Germany) elected as successor 

of Leopold, 316. 
Joseph I. secures a treaty with Fiance for 
neutrality for Italy, 339. 
continues the war against Spain, 

338. 
political concessions of in Hun- 
gary, 349. 
refusal of to grant the demands 

of the diet, 350. 
Transylvania again subject to, 

351. 
rout of the Hungarians by, 351. 
death of, 352. 
Joseph II. (of Austria) elected to succeed 
the Emperor Francis, 481. 
assumes the crown of Germany, 

4S4. 
succeeds Maria Theresa, 491. 
character of, 492. 
death of, 500. 

attempt of to obliterate distinc- 
tions in Austria, 493. 
emancipates the serfs of, 494. 
joins the excursion of Catherine 

II., 497. 
defeat of at Belgrade, 498. 
successes of, 499. 
Julius III. ascends the pontifical throne, 
130. 



K. 



Kaunitz (Count) appointed prime minis- 
ter, 462. 
Kevenhuller (General) given the com- 
mand of the Austrian 
army, 405. 
King, nominal power of the, 308. 
Kinsky, letter of Charles VI. to, 391. 
Kleses. (See Cardinal.) 
Konigsegg (General), power of in a coun- 
sel of war, 404. 
recalled in disgrace, 405. 



L. 

Ladislaus I., coronation of, 65. 

visit of to the pope, 67. 
inglorious flight of, 69. 
tyranny of towards the family 

of Hunniades, 71. 
flight of from Buda, 71. 
his projected marriage to 

Magdalen, 71. 
death of, 72. 
Ladislaus II. elected King of Hungary, 
79. 
assumes the government of 
Austria, 81. 
Landau, the Austrians checked at, 47. 
* 



514 



INDEX 



Landshut, flight of Charles V. to, 126. 
League against France, 85. 

of Augsburg, 315. 
Leipsic captured by Tilly, 285. 
Leo X., John of Medici assumes the name 

of, 100. 
Leopold I. (of Austria) succeeds Ferdinand 
III., 304. 
convenes the diet at Presburg, 

309. 
accused by the diet of persecu- 
tion, 309. 
his desire for peace, 312. 
organizes a coalition against 

Louis XIV., 315. 
attempt of to establish despotic 

power in Hungary, 317. 
driven from Hungary, 317. 
flight of with his family, 319. 
humiliation of, 322. 
disgust of the people with, 324. 
vengeance of, 324 
efforts of to obtain a decree that 
the crown was hereditary, 325. 
claims Spain, 326. 
declares war against France, 

331. 
deserted by the Duke of Bava- 
ria, 334. 
death of, 334. 
canonization of, 335. 
his various marriages, 336. 
Leopold II. ascends the Austrian throne, 
500. 
despotism of in Hungary 
meets with a remonstrance, 
501. 
interposes against France, 502. 
letter of to the King of En- 
gland, 502. 
death of, 502. 
Leopold I. (of Germany), character and 

death of, 45. 
Leopold I. (of Switzerland), character of, 
52. 
death of, 57. 
Leopold II., succession of, 57. 

assumes the guardianship of 

Albert V., 59. 
death of, 59. 
Leopold (Archduke) invasion of Upper 
Austria by, 220. 
defeat of by Matthias, 221. 
Lewis II., excommunication of, 50. 
Liberty, the spirit of acting in France, 501. 
Lithuania, duchy of, 53. 

annexation of to Poland, 54. 
Loredo, arrival of Charles V. at, 141. 
Lorraine (Chevalier De), duel between 
the and the young Turk, 312. 
Lorraine, duchy of demanded by France, 

397. 
Lorraine (Francis Stephen, Duke of) com- 
pelled to flee from Hungary, 
319. 
his engagement with Maria The- 
resa, 895. 
deprived of his kingdom, 397. 
his marriage, 398. 
appointed commander of the ar- 
my, 404. 
reply of the to the demand of 
Frederic, 418. 



Lotis XII., succession of to the throne of 
France, S9. 
inaugurated Duke of Milan, 90. 
diplomacy of, 91. 
Louis XIII. espouses the cause of Ferdi- 
nand I., 256. 
Louis XIV., attempt of to thwart Leopold, 
304. 
marriage of, 314. 
resolve of to annex a part of 

Spain, 314. 
responsible for devastation of 

the Palatinate, 316. 
rapacious character of, 317. 
claims Spain, 326. 
preparations of to invade 

Spain, 329. 
desire of to retire from the 

conflict, 341. 
melancholy situation of, 357. 
Louis XV. begins to take part in the gov- 
ernment, 878. 
Louis XVI., plans of, 502. 
Louis (of Bavaria) elected emperor, 42. 
excommunication of, 47. 
death of, 47. 
Louis (of Hungary), death of, 146. 
Louis (son of Philip V.), death of, 371. 
Ldbec, peace of, 269. 
Ludovico, escape of the Duke of, 90. 
Ludovico (Duke of Milan), recovery of 
Italy by the Duke of. 90. 
mutiny of the troops of, 91. 
death of, 92. 
Luther summoned to repair to Eome, 102. 
bull of the pope against, 108. 
works of burned, 109. 
support of at the diet of Worms, 

110. 
summoned to appear before the diet, 

110. 
triumphal march of, 111. 
memorable reply of, 111. 
triumph of, 112. 
attempts of Charles V. to bribe, 

113. 
his Patmos, 1 13. 
his German Bible, 113. 
the party of encouraged by Adrian 

the pope, 114. 
marriage of, 114. 
the Confession of Augsburg too 

mild for, 119. 
visit of Charles V. to grave of, 128 
Lutherans, reply of to Henry IV., 191. 

(see also Luther.) 
Lutzen, meeting of the armies at, 291. 
battle of, 292. 



M. 



Madrid, evacuation of, by the Austrians, 

345. 
Magdeburg, the city of, espouses Gustavus, 
282. 
sacking of, by the Imperial 
troops, 2S3. 
Mahomet II., siege of Belgrade by, 69. 
Mahomet IV., his foreign war, 307 
Marlborough (Duke of), the guardian of 

Anne, 332. 
Malplaquet, battle at, 341. 



INDEX. 



515 



Mantua, aid furnished Leopold by, 311. 

battle at, 387. 
Makchioness of Pompadour, arrogance of, 

404. 
Maria Antoinette, history of, 487. 

letter of Maria Theresa 
to, 488. 
Maria Theresa (of Spain), marriage of to 

Louis XIV., 314. 
Maria Theresa (of Austria), character of, 
395. 

her attachment for the 
Duke of Lorraine, 395. 

marriage of, 398. 

ascends the Austrian 
throne, 415. 

solicitations of to foreign 
powers, 417. 

her apparent doom, 421. 

consents to part with Glo- 
gau, 424. 

a son born to her, 426. 

desire of that her husband 
should obtain the im- 
perial crown, 427. 

her coronation at Pres- 
burg, 429. 

address of to the diet, 431. 

reinforcements of, 436. 

ambitious dreams of, 439. 

forbids the conference for 
the relief of Prague, 440. 

attempt of to evade her 
promise to Sardinia, 446. 

arrogance of excites in- 
dignation of the other 
powers, 449. 

rouses the Hungarians, 
450. 

recovers Bohemia, 450. 

interview of the English 
ambassador with, 454. 

si^ns the treaty of Dres- 
den, 458. 

indignation of at peace 
being signed by En- 
gland, 460. 

chagrin of, 461. 

her energetic discipline, 
462. 

secures the friendship of 
the Marchioness of Pom- 
padour, 46a. 

reproaches towards En- 
gland, 466. 

her diplomatic fib, 468. 

victories of, 475. 

loses Russia and Sweden, 
480. 

recovers the cooperation 
of Russia, 481. 

children of, 486 

letter of to Maria Antoin- 
ette, 488 

letter to Frederic desir- 
ing peace, 489. 

charge to her son, 490. 

death of, 491. 

fate of her children, 491. 
Mart Anne (of Spain) affianced to the dau- 
phin of France, 872. 
insulting rejection of, 373. 
Margaret (of Bouemia), engagement of, 46. 



Margaret (of Bohemia") (continued), mar- 
riage and flight of, 49. 
divorce of, 49. 
Margaret, celebration of the nuptials of. 

314. 

Mark of Brandenburg, taken possession 

of by Gustavus 

Adolphus, 281. 

Martinetz thrown from the palace by the 

mob, 328. 
Massacre, the, of St. Bartholomew, 171. 
Mathew Henry (Count of Thurn), leader 
of the Protestants, 234. 
convention called by, 236. 
Matthias (of Hungary), invasion of Austria 
by, 75. 
death of, 79. 
Matthias, character of, 201. 

chosen leader of the revolters in 

the Netherlands, 202. 
increasing popularity of, 203. 
announces his determination to 

depose Rhodolph III., 204. 
his demand that Rhodolph should 

abdicate, 205. 
distrust of by the Protestants, 

205. 
arrest of the Lord of Inzendorf 

by, 206. 
reluctance of to sign the condi- 
tions, 207. 
elected king, 207. 
haughtiness of towards the Aus- 

trians, 208. 
political reconciliation between 

Rhodolph III. and, 219. 
march of against Leopold, 221. 
limitations affixed to the offer of - 

the crown to, 222. 
coronation of, 224. 
marriage of, 225. 
suspicions of the Catholica 

against, 229. 
elected Emperor of Germany, 

229. 
thwarted in his attempts to levy 

an army, 230. 
concludes a truce with Turkey, 

231. 
his revival of the ban against tho 

Protestants, 231. 

efforts of to secure the crown of 

Germany for Ferdinand, 232. 

opposed by the Protestants, 233. 

defiant reply of to the congress 

at Prague, 236. 
disposition of to favor toleration, 

239. 
death of, 344. 
Maurice (of Saxony), Protestant principles 
of, 131. 
treaty of with the King of Franco. 

132. 
capture of the Tyrol by, 133. 
demands of from Charles V., 135 
death of, 137. 
Maximilian I., ambition of, 84. 

efforts of to rouse the Kal- 
ians, 88. 
efforts to secure the Swiss 

estates. 89. 
defeat of at the diet of 
Worms, 87. 



516 



INDEX. 



Maximilian I. {continued), roused to new 
efforts, 92. 
superstitious fraud of, 93. 
drawn into a war with Ba- 
varia, 94. 
league formed by against 

the Venetians, 95. 
abandoned by his allies, 97. 
perseverance of rewarded, 

98. 
confident of success against 

Italy, 99. 
letter of to his daughter, 99. 
success beginning to attend, 

100. 
plans of to secure the 
crowns of Hungary and 
Bohemia, 101. 
contempt of for the pope, 

103. 
peculiarities of exhibited, 

VS. 
death of, 104 
accomplishments of, 105. 
Maximilian II. allowed to assume the title 
of emperor elect, 161. 
character of, 169. 
his letter to the Elector 

Palatine, 170. 
profession of the Catholic 

faith, 170. 
address of to Henry of Ya- 

lois, 172. 
liberal toleration main- 
tained by, 172. 
answer of to the complaints 

of the diet, 173. 
offer of to pay tribute to 

the Turks, 174 
elected King of Poland, 

ISO. 
death of, 181. 
character and acquirements 

of, 182. 
tribute of honor by the am- 
bassadors to, 183. 
wife of, 1S3. 

fate of his children, 184. 
Maximilian (brother of Matthias), the can- 
didate of the Protestants, 
229. 
Maximilian Joseph, ascends the throne of 

Bavaria, 451. 
Meinhard, legitimate rights of, 50. 

death of, 50. 
Melancthon, character of, 119. 
Mentz, taunts of the Elector of, 38. 
Metternich, his theory of social order, 506. 
Metz, siege of, 137. 
Milan, captured by Louis XII., 90. 

Louis XII. created Duke of, 90. 
Minister (see the countries for which the 

minister acted). 
Moiiatz, battle of, 146. 
Molnitz, the court of Frederic established 

at, 421. 
Montecuculi (Prince), commander of the 

troops of Leopold, 311. 
Mont8errat, shrine of the holy Virgin at, 

355. 
Moravia, to be held five years by Ehodolph, 
81. 
the province of, 208. 



Moravia (continued), triumphal march of 

Count Thurn into, 247. 
Moses Tzekeli crowned Prince of Transyl- 
vania, 196. 
Mulheim, the fortifications of demolished, 

232. 
MrjNicn captured by Frederic. 449. 
Murchfield, meeting of the armies on tho 
field of, 29. 



N. 



Naples, subjugation of, 84 
Napoleon Bonaparte, similarity of the 
plans of Henry 
IV. and, 216. 
remark of verified, 

262. 
remark of concern- 
ing Russia, 899. 
Netherlands, revolt in the, 201. 

Marlborough in possession 
of the, 339. 
Nehperg (General), imprudence and insult 
of, 408. 
arrested by Charles, 413. 
Neustadt, the emperor's remains to be de- 
posited at, 104. 
Nicholas (Count of Zrini), heroic defense 

of Zigeth by, 175. 
Nissa, capture of, 402. 
Nobles, the, of Bohemia banished, 271. 
Novarra, defense of the citadel of, 90. 
Nuremburg, congress at, 227. 

request of, that Bhodolp-Q 

should abdicate, 223. 
battle of, 290. 
famine in the city of, 290. 

O. 

Officers, ignorance of the Austrian, 389. 
Orleans (.Duke of), matrimonial arrange- 
ments of the, 369. . 
death of the, 378. 
Orsova captured by the Turks, 405. 

surrendered to the Turks, 408. 
Otho marries Hedwige, of Hapsburg, 25. 

harmonious rulo of, 46. 
Ottocar (of Bohemia), candidate for crown 
of Germany, 23. 
opposition of Ehodolph, 24 
command of the diet to, 24. 
message of, to Ehodolph, 24 
power of, 25. 

his contempt for Ehodolph, 25. 
his excommunicatiou by the 

pope, 26. 
his performance of feudal hom- 
age, 27. 
violates his oath, 28. 
the body of found after battle, 30. 
Oxenstiern (Chancellor), appointed com- 
mander of the Swedish ar- 
my, 297. 

P. 

Palatinate, territory of the, 250. 
Pappenheim (General), death of, 293. 
Pas8au, diet at, 137. 



INDEX. 



sn 



Patmos, Luther's, 113. 
Paul 1IL (of Eussia), alliance of with 
Prussia, 480. 
assassination of, 480. 
Paul IV. (Pope), death of, 162. 
Peace of Passarovitz, 364. 
People, contempt for the, 95. 
Pest taken by the Turks, 147. 
Peter the Gkeat, ambition of, 399. 

death of, 399. 
Peterwardein, strength of, 406. 
Philip (of Burgundy), obtains the dukedom 

of Burgundy, 84. 
Philip III. institutes the order of the Gold- 
en Fleece, 372. 
Philip IV. (of Spain) obtains renunciation 
of succession in favor of Mar- 
garet, 314. 
resolve of, to maintain his 

throne, 341. 
supported by his subjects, 342. 
flight of, from Catalona, 343. 
Philip V. despondency of, 369. 
abdication of, 370. 
resumes his crown, 371. 
Pilgram, diet at, 66. 
Pius IV. elected pope, 162. 
Podiebrad (George), assumes regal au- 
thority, 66. 
intrusted with the regency of 

Bohemia, 68. 
elected King of Bohemia, 73. 
Poland, conditions affixed to the throne of, 
ISO. 
Stephen Barthori chosen king of, 

by the minority, 181. 
attempts of France to place Stan- 
islaus on the throne of, 383. 
Count Poniatowski secures the 

crown of, 4S4. 
to be carved out, 485. 
annihilation of, 486. 
Pomerania, seizure of, by Ferdinand, 269. 
Pompadour (Marchioness of), arrogance of 

the, 464. 
Poniatowski (Count), elected King of Po- 
land, 484. 
Pope, the, letter of Bhodolph to, 24. 

character of Pope Gregory X., 24. 
indignation of the, 38. 
capitulation of the, 84. 
(Alexander VI.) bribery of, 89. 
(Julius II.) the, bought over, 92. 

bull of the, deposing the 

King of Naples, 93. 
demands of the, as booty, 

95 
infamy of, 95. 
infamous acquisitions of, 

98. 
proclamation against the, 

by Maximilian, 98. 
death of, 100. 
John of Medici elected as, 100. 
(Leo X.), command of the, to Luther 

to repair to Home, 102. 
Maximilian's contempt for the, 103. 
bull of the, against Luther. 108. 
bull of the, burned by Luther, 109. 
death of Leo X., the, 113. 
(Adrian), accession of, as, 113. 
(Clement "711.) succeeds Adrian, 
116. 



Pope (continued), offer of pardon by the, 

for those who assist in enforcing 

the Council of Trent, 125. 

disgust of the, against Charles V., 129. 

(Julius III.) elected as, 130. 

indignation of the, at the toleration 

oAhe diet at Passau, 138. 
the, allows Maximilian to assume 

the title of emperor elect, 161. 
intolerant pride of, 161. 
(Pius IV.) elected as, 162. 
dependence on the, dispensed with, 

163. 
refusal of the, to reform abuses, 165. 
attempts of the, to influence Maxi- 
milian IL, 174. 
aid extended to Leopold by the, 311. 
embassage from Charles II. to the, 

329. 
alarm of the, at the innovations of 
Joseph II., 494. 
Pragmatic Sanction, the, 864. 

the, supported by 
various powers, 
461. 
Prague, Ferdinand crushes the revolt in, 
156. 
diet at, 158. 

seizure of, by Leopold, 221. 
archbishop of, expelled from the 

city, 239. 
indignation of the inhabitants of, 

against Frederic, 262. 
surrender of, to Ferdinand, 262. 
surrender of, to the Austrians, 

443. 
suffering in, on account of the 
siege, 472. 
Praunstein (Lord of), reasons for the, de- 
claring war, 80. 
Precocity, not a modern innovation, 108. 
Presburg, diet at, 309. 
Press, success of the, in diffusing intelli- 
gence, 102. 
Printing, the influence of, beginning to bo 

felt, S3. 
Privileges confined to the nobles, 187. 
Protest of the minority at the diet of 

Spires, 116. 
Protestantism, spread of, in Europe, 163. 
its working for liberty, 
264. 
Protestants, assembly of, at Smalkalde, 
121. 
refusal of the, to assist 

Charles V , 122. 
contributions of the, to expel 

the Turks, 122. 
increase of the, 123. 
the, reject the council of 

Trent, 124. 
ruin of the army of the, by 

Charles V., 126. 
party of the, predominant in 

Germany, 183. 
shameful quarreling among 

the, 190. 
union of, at Aschhausen, 194. 
opposition of the, to Mat- 
thias, 206. 
their demands on Matthias, 

207. 
reasonable demands of, 211. 



518 



INDEX. 



Pbotestants (continued), forces of the, 
vanquished at Pritznitz, 
259. 
secret combinations of the, 

for the rising of the, 267. 
concessions to, revoked by 

Ferdinand, 270. 
the, prefer the Duke of Bava- 
ria to any of the family of 
Ferdinand, 279. 
loss of the, in the death of 

Gustavus, 290. 
pleasure of the, at the entry 
of Frederic into Silesia, 419. 
Pbxjbsia inhabited by a pagan race, 20. 
alliance of, with Austria, 459. 
alliance of, with England, 466. 
a subsidy voted to, by England, 

475. 
formidable preparations against, 
470. 
Pbussians, the, driven from Bohemia, 450. 



K. 



Eaab taken by the Turks, 147. 
Bagotsky (Francis), leader of the rebellion, 
333. 
assembles a diet, 349. 
chosen dux, or leader, 350. 
outlawed, and escape of, 351. 
Batisbon, diet at, in 1629, 275. 

refusal of, to accept Ferdinand's 
word, 276. 
Eeformation, commencement of the, 103. 
Beligion, remarkable solicitude for the 

reputation of, 98. 
Eewaed offered for the head of Bhodolph, 

30. 
Bhodolph (of Hapsburg), at the time of his 
father's death, 18. 
presentation of, by the emperor 

for baptism, 19. 
his incursions, 19. 
marriage, 19. 
excommunication ot, 20. 
engaged in Prussian crusade, 20. 
a monument reared to, by the 

city of Strasburg, 21. 
principles of honor, 21. 
chosen chief of Uri, Schweitz, 

and Underwalden, 21. 
chosen mayor of Zurich, 21. 
elected Emperor of Germany, 

23. 
power of, as emperor, 25. 
family of, 25. 

gathering clouds around, 28. 
address of the citizens of Vien- 
na to, 28. 
death of, 35. 
Bhodolph II., character and court of, 48. 
ostentatious titles of, 51. 
death of, 51. 
Bhodolph III. crowned King of Hungary, 
178. 
obtains the imperial throne, 

180. 
bigotry of, 187. 
his infringement of the 
rights of the burghers, 
188. 



I Bhodolph III. (continued), his blowt 

against Protestantism, 189. 

intolerance of in Bohemia, 

193. 
superstition of, 200. 
his favor to Ferdinand, 204. 
demands of the Protestants 

on, 205. 
his encouragement of fllli- 
bustering expeditions, 208. 
remarkable pliancy of, 210. 
his terror at the chance cf 

assassination, 212. 
political reconciliation be- 
tween Matthias and, 219. 
his plot with Leopold, 220. 
Bhodolph taken prisoner, 

221. 
his abdication, 222. 
required to absolve his sub- 
jects from their oath of 
allegiance, 223. 
retains the crown of Ger- 
many, 225. 
supplication of to the con- 
gress at liothemberg, 226. 
a congress at Nuremberg 

summoned by, 227. 
death of, 228. 
EnoDOLPn (of Bohemia', death of, 39. 
Ehine, separating Basle from Bhodolph, 

23. 
Bichelieu, motives influencing, 267. 

ambassadors of urge the Duke 
of Bavaria as candidate for the 
imperial crown, 279. 
Eippeeda (Baron), the secret agent of the 
Queen of Spain at Vienna, 373. 
rise and fall of, 375. 
escape of to England, 376. 
Bobinson (Sir Thomas), interview of with 

Maria Theresa, 454. 
Eothenburg, congress at, 226. 
Bussia, growing power of, 399. 

succession of the crown of, 399. 
instrumental in placing Augustus 
IL on the throne, 400. 



Saragossa, battle of, 343. 
Saxony, defeat of the Elector of, 128. 
nobility of, 128. 
degradation of, 129. 
power of, 132. 

the electorate of, passes to Augus- 
tus, 137. 
Schabtlin (General), the Protestants march 

under, 125. 
Schweitz, Bhodolph of Hapsburg chosen 

chief of, 21. 

Sclavonia, marriage of the Duke of to 

the daughter of Bhodolph, 25. 

Seckendoef, (General), the Austrian army 

intrusted to, 400. 

his plans of campaign broken 

up by Charles, 402. 
capture of Nissa by, 402. 
condemned to the dungeon, 
402. 
Secbet Aeticles of the treaty with Austria, 
876. 



INDEX 



519 



Begeberg, league at, 267. 
Schmettau (General), the retreat of "Wal- 
lis arrested by, 407. 
compelled to yield Belgrade, 
409. 
Selim succeeds Solyman, 177. 
Semendria, defense of, 64. 

its capture, 65. 
Sempach, battle of, 55. 
Beefs emancipated by Joseph II., 494. 

his plan for seizing Bavaria frus- 
trated, 495. 
Seven Years' War, termination of the, 

481. 
Sicily, subjugated and attached to the Nea- 
politan crown, 338. 
Sigismond (Francis, Duke of Tyrol), his al- 
liance with Khodolph, 195. 
representation in the diet intro- 
duced bv, 308. 
death of, 314. 
Sigismond (of Bohemia), power of, 60. 

address of to the diet at Znaim, 

61. 
death of, 62. 
Silesia sold to Khodolph, 195. 

taken possession of by Frederic, 
418. 
Siseck, Turks routed at, 195. 
Slavata thrown from the palace by the 

mob, 233. 
Smalkalde, assembly of the Protestants 

at, 121. 
Solyman (the Magnificent), victories of, 
146. 
reply of to the demand made by 

Ferdinand, 147. 
his method of overcoming diffi- 
culties, 149. 
his attack upon Guntz, 150. 
his price of peace with Hungary, 

153. 
death of from rage, 176. 
Spain decreed by the will of Charles II. to 
succeed to France, 331. 
espouses the cause of Ferdinand II., 

256. 
assistance furnished Leopold by, 311. 
invasion of by the British and 

Charles III., 354 
treaty between Austria and, 373. 
the Austrians forbidden to trade in, 

380. 
invasion of Italy by, 388. 
Spaniards, the, routed at Catalonia, 343. 
St. Bartholomew, massacre of, 171. 
St. Gothard, troops stationed at, 311. 

battle of, 312. 
St. Ildefonso, the palace of, 370. 
St. Ju8tds, convent of, 140. 
St. Petersburg, rearing of the city of, 399. 
Stanhope (General), bearing of, 342. 
desperate position of, 347. 
Stanislaus Leozjnski, career of, 382. 

daughter of married 
to Louis XV., 382. 
receives a pension 
from France, 383. 
elected King of Po- 
land, 383. 
his marvelous jour- 
ney through Ger- 
many, 384. 



Staremberg (General), bearing of, 842. 
State, the independence of each German, 

18. 
Stephen, crowning of the infant as king, 

152. 
Stephen Botskoi, indignity offered to, 197. 
his manifesto, 198. 
proclaimed King of Hun- 
gary, 199. 
Stettin captured by Gustavus Adolphus, 

281. 
Stetzim, diet at, 349. 
Stralsund, defense of, 269. 
Strickland sent to London to overthrow 

the cabinet, 392. 
Sttria traversed by the Turks, 311. 
Sweden roused by Gustavus Adolphus 
against Ferdinand II., 280. 
prudent conduct of on death of 
Gustavus, 297. 
Swedes, sorrow of the at the death of Gus- 
tavus, 294. 
Switzerland, divisions of, 40. 



Thiten (Count) leads the mob to the king's 
council, 237. 
appointed commander of the Prot- 
estants, 33S. 
invades Austria, 247. 
Tilly (Count), the imperial troops in- 
trusted to, 2S2. 
Titian, graceful compliment of Charles V 

to, 144. 
Trausnitz, Frederic I. a prisoner at the 

castle of, 43. 
Transylvania, rebellion in, 333. 
Treasure abandoned by the Turks, 823. 
Treaty of Passau, 136. 
Trent, Council of, 124. 

the second council at, 130. 
council at in 1562, 164. 
declarations of, 166 
Tribunal at Eperies, 324. 
Trieste, arrival of troops at, 94. 
Turenne, the Palatinate devastated by 
315. 
challenged by the Elector of 
Palatinate, 316. 
Turin, the court of bribed, 89. 
Turks, origin and increase of the, 63. 
defeat of at Belgrade, 70. 
spread of the, 121. 
invasion of Hungary by the, 122. 
the, driven from Hungary, 122. 
treaty of Charles V. with the, 123. 
victorious in Hungary, 136. 
invasion of Europe by the, 145. 
compelled to return home, 148. 
the, retire from Hungary, 177. 
peace made by Maximilian with 

the, 178. 
invasion of Croatia by the, 195. 
union of the with the forces of 

Botskoi, 199. 
truce of Hungary with the, 203. 
the, conclude a peace with Austria, 

231. 
invasion of Hungary by the, 810. 
defeat of on the field of St. Gothard, 
812. 



t>20 



INDEX. 



Tueks (continued), favorabU treaty se- 
cured by the, 313. 
the invasion of Sclavonia by the, 

360. 
destruction of the army of the, 363. 
the, implore peace, 364. 
Orsova besieged by the, 404. 
the, routed at Rimnik, 499. 
Tuscany, subjugation of by Charles VIII., 
84. 
aid furnished Leopold by, 311. 
death of the Duke of, 39S. 
Tyrol, marriage of Albert to Elizabeth, 
daughter of the Count of, 25. 
possession of obtained by Rhodolph 

II., 50. 
its power as the key to Italy, 

313. 
death of the Duke of, 314. 



U. 



Uladislaus obtains the throne of Hungary, 

66. 
Ulm, rendezvous of the Protestants at, 

257. 
Ulbic, the Protestant Duke of restored to 

Wirteinberg, 122. 
Ondeewalden, Rhodolph of Hapsburg 

chosen chief of, 21. 
Uei, Rhodolph of Hapsburg chosen chief 

of, 21. 
Uttlebeeg, capture of the castle of by Rho 
dolph, 22. 



V. 



Valeeius Baetholomew, the king's con- 
fessor, 248. 
Valladolid, court of Philip established at, 

343. 
Vendome (General) joins Philip, 343. 
Venice bribed, 89. 

Maximilian bound by truce with, 

95. 
aid furnished Leopold by, 311. 
Victoe Asmedeus, business of, 369. 
Vienna one of the strongest defenses of 
the empire, 26. 
the king's residence at, 27. 
address of the citizens of to Rho- 
dolph, 28. 
siege of. 74. 

the professors of the university at 
avow the doctrines of Luther, 
114 



Vienna (continued), assault of, 320. 
delivered by Sobieski, 322. 



W. 



Wallenstein made generalissimo of all the 
forces, 268. 
arrogance of, 273. 
matrimonial alliances vt 

274. 
his dismissal from the army 

demanded, 276. 
he retires from the army 

278. 
his regal mode of living, 287. 
his humiliating exactions 

from the emperor, 289. 
superstition of, 291. 
urges Ferdinand to make 

peace, 297. 
traitorous offer to surrender 

to the Swedes, 298. 
his assassination, 299. 
"Wallk (Marshal) given the command of 
the army, 406. 
arrested by Charles, 413. 
"Was, its debit and credit account, 359. 
(see also the various campaigns.) 
"Waterloo, its advantage to Austria, 404 
Wenceslaus acknowledged king, 31. 
marriage to Judeth, 31. 
death of, 38. 
Westphalia, signing of the peace of, 300. 
conditions of the treaty of, 
301. 
White Mountain, battle of, 259. 
William (son of Leopold), demand of for 
the government, 58. 
marriage of, 59. 
"Winkelreid (Arnold), heroism of, 56. 
"Wismar, the naval depot of Ferdinand, 268. 
"Wittemberg, procession of the students of, 

109. 
Worms, diet at in 1521, 108. 

the diet of inveighs Luther, 110. 



Zealand, encampment of Charles Gus- 

tavus in, 306. 
Zigeth, heroic defense of by Nicholas, 176. 
noble death of the garrison of, 177. 
Zinzendorf, remark of, 393. 
Znaim, diet at, 61. 

Zurich, Rhodolph of Hapsburg chosen chieJ 
of, 21. 



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